Not in This Lifetime

Not in This Lifetime
Sept 10, 2012
Hebrews 11:13  "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth."

You've been given something to do, a burden in your heart, a promise from the Lord for your future.  But for some reason it isn't done, it isn't complete, it may not even seem started.  Frustration.  Disheartening, even depressing.  But the Lord would say to you today to stay strong, hold fast, and keep your faith in Him intently.  The Lord wants you to keep moving in the direction that He has led you, but He wants you to wait on Him for His timing in it all.  Finality is the Lord's responsibility for your task at hand, you are only supposed to be faithful in the present, though it seems you cannot move forward some days.  It is not what you complete, it is what you maintain that is the key. For a results oriented society, results are important, but the Lord would say to you today that maintaining something is far more critical.

What is it you could maintain that could be so important?  Faith.  Yes, you must maintain your faith in the Lord and His promises for your life, His plan, His path, though it seems confusing, even a detour.  The Bible says that you may not even see the results in your lifetime; this must be acceptable for you.  You are to live for the immediate as if the results will happen tomorrow, however be content if you never see those results.  If this does not resonate well with you, then your faith could be stronger, your trust in the Lord might be weak.  All the great role models found in the Bible, they never saw the finality of what was promised, the complete resolution for their situation, their life's work.   But they maintained their faith in the Lord throughout it all.  The Lord applauded their work before others, despite the lack of clearly defined results.

Abraham was promised to be the father of an entire nation, descendants as numerous as the grains of sand on the beach, yet he only had one son.  But thousands of years later, the authors of the Bible penned about how strong Abraham's faith was, being confident in the Lord.  And right after they lauded Abraham for His faith, there is a noteworthy point.  The Bible says that if Abraham had been looking for his finality here on this earth, then his country and his destination would be here as well.  But he wasn't.  Abraham wasn't looking for his finality in this world, he was looking Heaven bound.  Abraham knew that Heaven was his destination, that Heaven contained his finality and that a home, results, or a resolution would not be his in this lifetime.

You may never see the results you are looking for in this lifetime, but the Lord wants you to stay encouraged, as your faith in Him and His sovereignty are far more important than anything you could accomplish for Him.  If you are looking for your finality, the resolution to your situation on this earth, or that longing fulfilled, then you might be misguided.  Your finality is Heaven bound.  Look toward the Lord and eternity with Him as your prize, your goal, your destination, your results, your promise fulfilled, and your hope realized.  Continue on the path the Lord has for you, only expect the results not in this lifetime but when you reach eternity in Heaven.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Ps 16:11, Acts 2:28, Heb 11:1-16