What You Lean On Matters

When our heart has chosen an idol, we will inevitably go to that idol to find what we were created to find in God. We were created to be comforted by our heavenly Father. He knows our future. He loves us deeply. He gives us the comfort our souls crave. Yet, we go to entertainment or food to find comfort. God gives us the significance we long for, but we run to our accomplishments, trophies, awards, degrees, and positions to find significance. God, in his power and authority, offers us security but we store up money and pursue financial security. God offers us joy that outlasts any circumstances, but we go to friends, family, or romantic relationships to find the joy we are looking for. God offers us ultimate Truth in a confusing world, but we are easily swayed by the popular opinion and the arguments of other people. We were created to find our ultimate satisfaction in God, but we settle for temporary pleasures. We go to these wells again and again thinking that this time they will give us the satisfaction, joy, and comfort we are looking for, but we come up empty every time. Yet, we often can’t see that we are running to broken cisterns instead of the well of eternal life. We’re confused why we’re still broken, sad, hurting, depressed, anxious, confused, and unsatisfied.  Jesus says, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13, NIV). Jesus died to give us free access to the living water. He didn’t die to prove to us the difference between right and wrong; he died to make us new creations. Because of his death and resurrection, we don’t have to live in slavery to our sin patterns. We can walk in freedom, enjoying the relationship with God that we were created for. Reflection/Discussion Question: What broken cisterns are you going to?

What would you do for a million dollars? If you’ve ever watched game shows such as Survivor, it’s clear that people will go to great lengths, face terrifying fears, and put themselves through intense suffering in order to earn a million dollars. However, if you were to ask people on Survivor to do it all for free, without the publicity of being on a show, far fewer would apply to participate. Imagine asking the contestants to do it all for free, but then offering the winner a million dollars at the end anyways. The contestants that inevitably dropped out may say something like, “I would’ve done so much more if I knew it was for a million dollars!” Will we end up saying something similar when we get to heaven? Will we arrive and see the glory, take in the beauty, experience the rest, and enjoy a perfect relationship with God our Father, and say, “Compared to this, I would’ve endured so much more and sacrificed everything if I really knew what this would be like”? The journey is hard—no doubt about that. Some of us have experienced such intense suffering that we wouldn’t wish it upon our worst enemy. But as much as we can hold the weight of our suffering, we can see the even greater glory that awaits us in heaven. When we know the end, it changes everything. We may deal with the scars of trauma, but those scars will disappear in heaven. We may wrestle with sin that feels impossible to escape, but we will leave behind our weak flesh when we enter the gates of heaven. Romans 8:18 says, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (NIV).  If we can keep our focus on what lies at the end, we can have joy in the midst of the difficult journey. We can have a peace that surpasses all understanding. We can look in the face of our deepest suffering—not ignoring the pain—but holding onto the real hope that our pain has an expiration date. Heaven may hold the peace and joy we are longing for, but we can have a taste of it right now through the power of the Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing what is to come (Ephesians 1:14). Reflection/Discussion Question: How can the hope of heaven give you joy and peace in the midst of any circumstance?