by Jennifer Stephens
Why don’t we talk about heaven more? If our uncertain futures and the demands of this life have us all living in heightened anxiety, then why are we not talking about our future with Christ?
I have asked this question to more than one pastor over the past several years. If we are trying to share our faith, then should we not include where it ultimately leads as part of the hope that we long for in our current state? I know that for me, my life makes no sense apart from God being exactly who He says He is in the Scriptures. He must be sovereign, and He has promised us He is going to return to redeem all of creation! This is beyond good news for this widowed mother of three.
Many of you know my background, but in case you don’t, here is a 10,000-foot flyover. In November 2016, my husband, Kirk, was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. His liver was over 90% covered and that diagnosis obviously changed my life and the lives of our children. There are not enough words in this short blog for me to describe the intense suffering which occurred until he was called home November 2019. The thing about Kirk was that as his body faded, the aroma of Christ began to take over his being. We clung to God’s Word together and processed really hard things, believing fully that God is who He says He is in His written Word. Six weeks after Kirk passed, my mom passed suddenly and unexpectedly. And then in March (of 2020) the world shut down… COVID. It was too much and thrust me into the darkest and hardest time.
You might ask how did I keep going? It is not as romantic as it seems because you all already have heard this method. I clung to Jesus and the truths held in HIS word like never before. With Kirk gone, it was up to me to pursue Jesus like never before. It has not been pretty, but God through His abundance of grace has walked very closely with me, intimately revealing more and more of who He is. He is all I have, and He is all I need… He is all you need, too, for that matter!
We do not talk about death much in our culture, yet it is all around us and 100% unavoidable. I watched a slow death, a slow burn, and I cried to be consumed. I was gifted with the beauty of watching a husband peacefully transition. It was in prayer, my prayer while holding Kirk’s hand, that I asked Jesus to take his hand from me and walk him home. He called Kirk’s soul home in that exact moment. I took a deep breath and felt peace. In the darkest and loneliest of moments according to the world, I was gifted with peace beyond understanding that others witnessed. God is good and sovereign—even over death.
From processing His goodness along the journey of cancer treatments and learning to lean into God’s sovereignty, Jesus showed me there was so much more to Him than I ever could begin to understand. I began to experience hope in a new and deeper way that was not limited to experiences this side of heaven. Cancer, widowhood, and single parenting have all created in me a clear longing for something better than this already-but-not-yet world. Hope for eternity, where we will be free from the brokenness of this world, is all I have some days. And God in HIS sovereignty did not just decide to send a band-aid of hope our way, but He sent His one and only Son to die on the cross gifting us HIS perfect righteousness so that we might stand before our God and be declared righteous. Jesus is our hope because the work of the cross is complete and provides entry for our souls and then bodies to experience eternity… WITH HIM!
Death to me has been a gift as it has brought my need for Christ front and center. This does not mean I don’t grieve. At times the pain has been so unbearable that I could not breathe. It was His breath that began to fill my lungs more and more, hence the gift of death. I don’t think our lungs fully breathe in Christ until we exhale one last time this side of heaven to then inhale eternity. Jesus died on the cross gifting His children with the promise of eternal life with Him. Death again delivering a mighty gift. Spiritual rebirth is the death of our souls to give us new life in Him. Embracing the reality of death allows hope for a believer knowing that our last breath here delivers our souls into the arms of Jesus while our bodies await His return. This is not our home, and we have all we need through the power of the Holy Spirit in us to pour through His Word and embrace the reality that we are just sojourners here. Death leads to resurrection, of course of Jesus, but also of the bodies of those who have gone before us!!
And return He will as He desires to be with His people. In the garden things were perfect before that apple was consumed. When Jesus returns, He will restore and redeem this fallen world, establishing the new heavens and the new earth. In this New Earth, our bodies will be healthy, and the souls of those who have gone before us will be there! The renewed earth will be no place for grief, tears, sickness, death, and pain. This is the best news, and we do not talk about this near enough or maybe we don’t get as fired up about this good news as we should! In the early church, people lived with great anticipation of His return. The spreading of the gospel was an urgent matter because eternal lives were at stake.
Are you looking at the weeds in your life today or are you taking a deep breath and sitting in awe of our Creator? Focusing on the weeds of this life without looking towards the hope of eternity is a recipe for anxiety. In Him there is peace because He has so much more for you than the weeds you see. Today after you read this and the scriptures below that have meant so much to me personally, I charge you to rest, process, and embrace His Goodness and His Sovereignty in your life. Sit in Awe of what He has done and pursue Him at all cost by the reading of His word. Set your eyes on eternal life with Him and all He has done to prepare and provide it for you. Wow!
For some deeper study, here are some places in scripture that have encouraged me in the hope of heaven:
- All of Revelation, as it is truly a book of hope… so read and reread that one…
- Isaiah 26:19
- John 5:28
- John 16:33
- Romans 8:22-24
- Philippians 3:20-21
- 1 Corinthians 15:35-58
