Echoes From the Campfire

I was always told to look hard at what you can see, but harder at what you can’t see.”
              –David W. Bailey  (Jericho James)

       “And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?'”
              –Luke 24:38 (NKJV)
—————————
Don’t let one event overwhelm you, or let one day dictate your life.  When you do that you are saying that circumstances control your life.  A failure or victory does not say who you are in the long haul of life.  Let me draw your attention to the last verse of that great hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” written by T.O. Chisholm.

         “Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
          Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
          Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
          Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!”

    God is with you, therefore, there is peace for this day.  Jesus even tells us not to worry about tomorrow, that there is trouble enough for today (Matthew 6:34).  However, in regard to tomorrow, have hope for He will be with you as you enter a new day.  When we believe in God we are not becoming people of renown faith, but rather we are grasping hold of His faithfulness to us.  We are certain of Him!
    We are not to let life overwhelm us.  It seems that is the lot of many, “Woe is me.”  This is not proper in the life of a Christian.  Instead we are to face life holding on to His hand.  Part of our problem is that we look at the events of this life rather than looking at things with eternity in view.  This world is transitory.  Everyone is only passing through this life on the way to eternity.  Everyone!
    As believers in Jesus Christ, we are but strangers here.  Pilgrims moving on to a heavenly city where we will spend eternity.  Lloyd-Jones writes, “Life in this world can only be viewed truly in the light of the next world…  Whether we like it or not, life itself has a way of forcing us all to consider what lies beyond it.”  This is not escapism, but a real way to look at our lives.  Things that come our way can make us either bitter or better.  
    Lloyd-Jones says, “The most important thing for us to concentrate on is the life of the soul.”  Since life is uncertain, since there are calamities, accidents, disease and pestilence, terror and war, we have to realize that it is the soul that is important.  The soul goes on and on and on…  Concentrate, therefore on the inner life, the life of the soul.  Maybe we spend too much time looking at the evil side of the world.  Look at how the media is focused on the negativity, the wickedness, and the sordid.  Perhaps we should be looking forward to our new home.

         “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”  –Psalm 23:6

Heaven, the place where God dwells, the place where Jesus went to prepare a place for us.  Heaven, the home of the soul that is born-again.  In the midst of the political whims of the bureaucrats get a view of your new home–heaven.  Look at the news and we can become alarmed.  Disappointment is sure to come if we look to the world for answers.  Happiness and joy is only but fleeting if we depend upon material things.  But our home is in heaven.  Because of that we can live this life with joy unspeakable.  Hmmm, I wonder if the Lord, being a carpenter and is building my home, uses golden nails?