Straight from a Temporal Heart
by Lisa Elliott

“In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33a, NIV). John got that right! James reinforces this troubling thought in James 1:2-4a, NIV when he tells us “whenever you face trials of many kinds.”

Brothers and sisters, these are not “if” thoughts. They are “when” thoughts. Even the prophet Isaiah would agree. He says, “When you pass through the waters, … when you pass through the rivers, … When you walk through the fire…” (Isaiah 43:2a, NIV). It is certain that we will experience troubles and tribulations and trials of many kinds at some point in our lifetime. Perhaps you already know this to be true. We don’t even have to watch the news or be on social media to realize the trouble this world is facing.

But, here’s the good news straight from the Apostle Paul, who knew troubles of his own. He tells of some of these troubles in Acts 20-28 and again in 2 Corinthians 8:3-33: beatings, floggings, imprisonment, shipwrecked, danger, theft, thirst and hunger, sleepless nights, daily pressure and more. He tells us, with confidence, that, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, NIV). Yes, in this world we will have troubles. But Jesus has overcome the world. Amen! What victory! What an eternal hope!

You see, the troubles we face here on earth are temporal. As Ecclesiastes 1:2a, (VOICE) states, “Life is fleeting, like a passing mist. It is like trying to catch hold of a breath; All vanishes like a vapor.” Our lives are like soap bubbles. They are here and gone in an instant.

In a conversation I had with my son, Ben, in the weeks leading up to his promotion to Heaven, I felt it was important that I release him and give him permission to leave this earth when the time came. “Don’t linger for our sakes, Ben,” I said. I told him that my prayer was that he would close his eyes here and open them up there. And, when he did, I believed we would all be with him. In the blink of an eye! It would be those of us who remained that would feel like we were waiting for an eternity before seeing him again.

Jesus told the thief on the cross beside Him that today he would be with Him in paradise. “It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52a, NLT).

We were reminded of this conversation when we visited my husband’s brother in the hospital earlier this year. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma last March and survived it by ten months. We knew it would be the last time we’d see him on this side of Heaven.

As we sat at his hospital bedside, my husband shared some recent math he had done based upon his reading of Psalm 90:4, (WEB) which says, “For a thousand years in your sight are just like yesterday when it is past, like a watch in the night.”

To God:

• 1,000 years = a watch in the night
• 1,000 years = 4 hours

Therefore:

• 1 day = 0.04 seconds
• 1 week = 0.28 seconds
• 1 year = 14.6 seconds
• 5 years = 1 minute, 13 seconds
• 10 years = 2 minutes, 26 seconds
• 25 years = 6 minutes, 5 seconds
• 44 years = 10 minutes, 42 seconds
• 100 years = 24 minutes, 20 seconds

What a beautiful, timely and heavenly perspective!

So, to all those who have gone before me, many I have personally known and a multitude of others I will one day meet on the other side of these earthly trials, “I’ll see you in a minute!”

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (2 Corinthians 4:17, NIV).

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Need a little extra encouragement? Discover more inspirational blogs by Lisa Elliott, Straight from the Heart.

About this Contributor:

Lisa Elliott is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of The Ben Ripple, Dancing in the Rain, and A Ministry Survival Guide. She’s also a writer for Just Between Us Magazine, theStory, and Good Ground. She and her husband, David, have four children (three on earth, one in heaven) and serve the Lord together in Stratford, ON, Canada.