Everlasting Bliss
“…the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard…no more.”
Isaiah 65:19 (NIV)
There are so many things that cause weeping in our world today. News of famine, earthquakes, crime, serious illness and death all surround us and make living difficult at times. If tragedy hasn’t touched us yet, it’s afflicted a loved one or a neighbour.
For serious minded people, this life can be seen as a shadowland—or a vale of tears. There’s a longing in the heart for something infinitely better. Many of us find within ourselves a great desire for a world that’s free from the curse we seem to labour under each day. We may possess many of life’s pleasures—but something is still missing. Marie Antoinette said “Nothing tastes”.
People who win it all will usually testify that arriving at the pinnacle of success doesn’t make you happy, satisfied, or content. Jack Higgins, internationally famous novelist, was asked what he would like to have known when he was younger. He replied, “That when you get to the top, there’s nothing there.”
Some people seek refuge from the pain of living in parties, acquiring more material goods, gaining recognition from their peers, in liquor or drugs, and a myriad of other “escapes” to dull the pain that returns when the “high” wears off. Despair abounds and solutions for it seem scarce or non existent.
It’s not difficult to weep at the suffering we experience and the heartache felt at some of life’s difficult alternatives. If we become followers of Jesus we’re not guaranteed exemption from the common sorrows of humanity. We don’t believe in Jesus in order to escape problems.
Coming to Jesus should never be seen as a quick fix to our present pain. What is promised however, is that when we complete our journey in this world, the tears shall all be wiped away if we belong to the Lord. We shall then have the eternal rest from all that spoils life here today.
Has life left you unsatisfied? Do your accomplishments seem empty? Are you still on a quest for something that retreats as you pursue it? God has placed within you a yearning for Himself that can’t be satisfied with anything less than Him. Answer the call of God today and seek Him while He can be found, call on Him while He is near. Only then will you be sure that your weeping shall be turned into joy, your sorrow to laughter.
“Cling to Christ and live the life of faith in Him. Remain in Him and live close to Him. Follow Him with heart and soul and mind and strength, and seek to know Him better every day. By doing so, you will have great peace while you pass through the “temporary things,“ and in the midst of a dying world you “will never die.“ (John 11:26) By doing so you will be able to look forward to “eternal things“ with unfailing confidence, and to feel and “know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.““ (2 Corinthians 5:1) J.C. Ryle