Is There Any Hope?

2 Corinthians 5:2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling (ESV)

    There is something in the way we are created that longs to be in the presence of God. Our nature remembers and longs for the time when man once was in His presence, as was our intended function the beginning of time. Since the fall we have been in a constant longing for that presence. We try to fill this longing with pleasure and lustful desires. And yet we have failed to fill it, the very things we already posses aren’t doing it. So what do we do? We think maybe if we had more of what we already have then we would be happy. So we toil for more. More wealth, more materials, more relationships, more sex, more drugs, more status and more fame. This vicious cycle is best described in the proverb, “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give and only suffers want.” The more we have the more we want. There is nothing this world has to offer that will satisfy our want.
    Jesus Christ is the only one who can satisfy for an eternity. But yet even when we have Christ in our life we are still groaning for his presence. This is because, even at our closet moment to Christ, in our earthly flesh, we are still not completely filled. Today we are given more then enough peace in God through his word and comfort through his spirit to be at rest in our relationship with Christ. But, once we realize that here on earth, we will always be groaning, because it isn’t until we are in heaven, in our eternal dwelling place, we will not know the full satisfaction of being in the presence of God. We will not get this in the flesh, but we struggle and groan today because we long for this.
    Once we realize the fact that Christ in our life today is enough, and that we will never fully make sense of eternal satisfaction until we stand in the presence of God, we can press on. This will free you from a lifetime of confusion, frustration, toil, fear and anxieties. If your hope is in the world to take this groaning away, you’re a long ways from finding satisfaction. So what will take the groaning away, well I would have to say until heaven nothing. But God has not left us until then, he will empower us, fill us with his wisdom, knowledge and understanding, comfort us and guide us. Or as Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” God provides for all our needs, who assures us and has replaced our spirit of fear with his Spirit of love, that we might trust him and follow his voice. He leads us into a place of peace and rest. We are a new creation in Christ Jesus. For God is in the business of restoring souls, fixing the broken hearted. And he leads us in the right way, a path that will bring Glory to his name and in turn will give meaning and purpose to our life. Because if we are glorifying the Lord, we are in his will, thus we are operating as he created us to, thus this is where we find the most meaning, purpose and satisfaction for this life now.

Application:
I know there are things that are holding me back from serving God. Instead of struggling through these things I will seek God for his proper balance, knowing that daily I am dependent on his Spirit.