Our Peace in His Presence

I remember when I celebrated the thirty-ninth anniversary of my thirty-ninth birthday—do the math. I grew up in the coalfields of western Pennsylvania. My best friend in high school passed away over twenty years ago.

When I return to the area, I always visit his grave before leaving town. After he first passed, I saw the graves of people three or four years older than us. As time passed, I started noticing the graves of people my age. With the further passage of time, I saw the graves of people several years younger than me. Then one day I walked past the graves of George and Tilter. They were the Tilter twins from my graduating class. It hit me—this thing called life was winding down. 

As I drove home, I experienced some nostalgia and a bit of sadness about leaving family and friends. But there was something else. I felt a peaceful yearning arise in my heart. At first, I couldn’t identify it, but I soon realized it as a desire to go to my heavenly home. Granted, it was a low-grade desire—I am not in any big hurry to get there.

We all want to go to heaven, but no one wants to die. Yet this yearning can be explained biblically by the fact that God has planted eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). When it comes to our time to go and be with Christ, those who have, by faith, lived well will die well. Our resurrection is directly related to Christ’s resurrection.

God places the yearning in our hearts. This is why we will never be totally satisfied in this earthly abode. Some have said we can be so heavenly-minded that we are no earthly good. We can also be so earthly-minded that we have no heavenly vision.

Be strong in the faith until Christ’s return. Keep your eye on the prize and listen for that trumpet sound when we meet Him in the air.

Kids are always hungry. Little ones whine and cry to the point of embarrassment when in public. They throw a fit and cause others to wonder if they’ve been neglected or haven’t eaten in days. Their sobs prompt endless snacking on crackers, fruit, cookies, and treats—anything to stop the tantrums.

Teenagers, on the other hand, get moody or even angry. Their stomachs are a bottomless pit. Of course, they burn many calories through sports and other activities. They will eat pizza, burgers, fries, tacos, subs, and munchies day and night.

But as disgruntled, starved, or insatiable as kids may be, these are but minor afflictions. Greater suffering and trials will come for us. Each new season of life brings challenging circumstances in health, relationships, finances, and jobs.

The Bible tells us about the afflictions the apostle Paul experienced. They seem unimaginable. Most of us will never experience trials such as imprisonment, stoning, shipwreck, and more.

However, even Paul’s sufferings were nothing compared to those of Jesus. Jesus endured beatings, rejection, humiliation, torture, and death on the cross of Calvary to save us all from our sins.

Jesus had a choice and chose to pay our sin debt in full. He obeyed His Father and endured such suffering to show how much He loves us. We can’t help but be drawn to the one who loves us so much.

When I face unexpected or unwanted circumstances or things out of my control, I may overreact, become defensive, or even feel sorry for myself. But if I pause before reacting, I will hopefully respond better.

We can’t avoid troubles, but we can choose how we respond to them. They are momentary and light when compared to eternity.

My friend is a skilled woodworker, but sometimes the wood does not conform to his purpose.

He once sanded an enormous plank destined to become a dining room table. The plank had been specially kiln-dried, but the weather was rainy. Moisture penetrated the wood grain, and the long edges curled slightly like a potato chip--not acceptable material for a dining room table. The only solution was to score long lines in the wood so the drier surface could relax and lie flat. He then refilled the scores with resin and resanded the entire surface.

Our writing can be like that wood plank. We labor over our novel, essay, or article—honing the message and massaging the words. We find it beautiful, like the carpenter who has sanded the table surface until it feels as smooth as silk. We then offer our cherished work to our editors, who point out that the plank is not level. We will need to cut and sand more to have an approved product.

We find it difficult to hear that the results of our long hours are imperfect. We resist cutting long grooves in something we feel we have made smooth. Someone wants to whittle away our efforts. Yet we do want something useful to readers.

The same is true of our lives as Christians. We pray and read our Bibles, but occasionally we may receive feedback from those who have walked longer with the Lord. These mid-course corrections may alert us to blind spots in our faith practice. When we open ourselves to constructive feedback, we may become more useful to God.

Extra work is often worth it. You will have a table to share meals with family and friends, a book worth reading, and a life worth living. Let God do what He will with your life planks. 

When I tracked the Christmas gift I’d ordered, I found the following notification: “Shipment Delivered to USPS, Package Acceptance Pending.” Looking further into the shipment history, I saw that UPS had supposedly left it at my local post office just a few blocks away—so close I could almost touch it.

I inquired at the counter, but the clerk claimed to know nothing about it. I still had hope that I would see it soon. A week and one day after the estimated delivery date, it showed up in my mailbox, just in time for Christmas. I held it tightly as I walked home.

Some days, I long for the moment when Jesus will return and usher in a world filled with His righteousness and end this world’s turmoil. The fulfillment of that promise seems so close I can almost touch it. There were people the apostle Peter connected with two thousand years ago who felt a bit impatient for God to make good on His promise to deliver a new heaven and earth.  

That package is still pending. But Peter assures us that it’s on its way. God only holds it back because He is so patient. He wants everyone to see things His way, accept His Son Jesus, receive forgiveness, and put their faith in Him.

Track your heart’s position to see if you have accepted God’s gift. If so, when the Lord delivers His righteousness, you’ll embrace the gift with both hands and a grateful heart. If not, take this moment to reach out to Him.

No documented cases exist of an adult being what-n-why’d to death by the incessant inquiries from a small child, but that doesn’t mean it’s never happened. Anyone who’s spent time around children knows they are the fount of never-ending wonder and questions.

In the future your children will ask you, “What is the meaning of these laws, decrees, and regulations that the LORD our God has commanded us to obey?” God gave this verse to parents to prepare them to address a specific category of whats and whys: those concerning faith and religious practices. As the children of Israel prepared to inhabit the Promised Land, God equipped them with laws, decrees, and regulations for success and prosperity in their new home. He instructed them to catechize their offspring in these truths at every teachable moment and answer inevitable questions their children would ask.

Imagine the questions those children had as they watched their parents prepare Passover, bring offerings to the Tabernacle, and honor the Sabbath. What amazing stories their mothers and fathers had to share. They would recount suffering slavery in Egypt and a hard-hearted Pharaoh who refused to release his slaves.

After devastating plagues, the Israelites finally escaped in the dark of night, only to be nearly recaptured before God parted the Red Sea, allowing them to cross while Pharaoh and his army drowned. They dined on manna from heaven each morning and received the Ten Commandments from atop a mountain that burned and quaked with the presence of Yahweh. They had experienced such an incredible journey under the longsuffering Moses to the land that flowed with milk and honey.

When God instructed parents in the old days to be prepared for future questions, He expected them to faithfully keep His commands and lovingly instruct their children to do the same. Scripture reminds us that younger generations are listening to our words and watching our actions—especially as they relate to the things of God.

Consider your example and the experiences you share. When your children ask you, enthusiastically respond with the hope that lies within you. Instill the same love and awe of God that those Israelite parents did by sharing God’s testimonies, laws, and decrees with your little ones for them to pass down to future generations.