It’s Friday…We Have No Reason To Lament

The picture of life around the globe looks pretty grim, doesn’t it? But that’s not the complete and accurate picture. Yes, life in this world looks fatal. But that’s not the final image because the Bible gives us a picture of Jesus ruling His Kingdom, destroying all opposition, and then handing The Kingdom over to the Heavenly Father. We may not be able to understand all the implications of that, but Revelation 11:15 is pretty clear that Jesus will reign forever, and Revelation 20:6 is just as clear that His followers (that’s you and me) will also reign with Him forever. And, in His Kingdom, unlike our world, power struggles are never an issue. He reigns, we reign, the reign is handed over to God The Father. . . however it works, we win. Everyone in the family of God is victorious. The Kingdom ends up completely in the right hands and shared among all who have committed their lives to Him.

“Then the end will come, when He hands over The Kingdom to God The Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.” (1 Corinthians 15:24)

Knowing the end of the story may not seem all that significant when we’re having a bad day, but it is. Looking forward to that end means that we never get to the end of our rope, never completely lose hope, never have a reason to say – “Things just aren’t going to get better.” Knowing this certain and victorious future sustains us in the challenging and confusing times in which we live.

All of us who are following Jesus need to keep that perspective. Yet, many of us still fret and worry about the direction of our country and our world, lamenting how things are getting worse and worse, almost convincing ourselves that we are going to end up losing the battle until Jesus comes to rescue us from it. But that’s not how this story plays out. In light of His promises to always be with us and empower us, to even suggest that we, God’s people, lose the battle is tantamount to saying God Himself loses the battle. It’s an absurd thought. The truth is, Jesus comes back to greet His victorious Bride, not His defeated servants.

So, let’s live from that sense of victory today. Let’s embrace a hopeful view of the future. No doubt, there will be trials, but they will not overcome us. We overcome them. Evil is undone by the power of Jesus in all of us who are filled and empowered with His Spirit. We Have No Reason To Lament today, in years to come, or even in the daily grind. The Kingdom ends up in the right hands. And we’ll have forever to celebrate it.

Have a victorious weekend. Make it better by worshiping The Lord with those who taste victory daily because they know they will celebrate it for all eternity. So why wait? Rejoice today and every day!

All For Jesus – Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else.

“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, The King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see, to Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b-16)