He is my Delight

A dear friend, who has faced much difficulty in life, recently sent me this encouragement in an email:

“We can smile, and be at peace in our souls, and why not, because the worst it ever gets here is as bad as it can get, because to be absent from the body is to be present with Christ at whose right hand are pleasures evermore… The only thing that mars our joy is the voluntary sorrow and grief that we suffer because of the love for dear precious souls that we love as we see them in their lost condition; foolishly unwilling to surrender their miserable and futile lives to the Only One who can save them and give them purpose and hope. What else is there to sorrow over? Our lives are in His hands, and whatever temporary suffering, loss, or lacking is inconsequential compared to eternity.”

There are wonderful days when all things that concern us are as we had always hoped they would be.  And then there are days when tears are abundant and pain and loneliness reside as constant companions.  But in just a few moments this vapor that is our life, with all its difficulties, temptations and sorrows, will be over.  We will step over the threshold into our eternal dwelling where sorrow can never touch us again….ever.

A few moments of sorrow, even should they stretch into years or decades, cannot compare to the heavenly comforts that await us and the joy of gazing upon the face of Jesus.

Even if my worst fears on this earth are realized, they only serve as an instrument to draw me nearer to Jesus.  Not only has death lost its sting, so has life.