Fix your's eyes on things higher!
Now we have come to the final and perhaps most important part of our series rising above it. We've seen what it means to rise past our struggles, pushing aside the obstacles in our way, and we've seen what it means to rise in them, even when we can't control them. But even after all of this, there is something even greater than, by the grace of God, we are called to do.
We are meant to transcend this broken world and enter into glorious new life in Christ. Instead of focusing our minds on the troubles around us, we are to fix our eyes on the higher, bigger picture of God's Kingdom. In John 16:33, Jesus says, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." These words sum up our hope as Christians. Yes, there will be tribulation. There will be suffering. But, we have peace on a whole other level in Christ. We just have to learn to get to that level. It's easy to feel stuck on this earth, grounded in the things we can see and hear and touch. We too often forget that there is someone much greater than any of this, and He is calling us upward every day.
We must Conquer our Strom and Rise!
In a metaphorical sense, every day has the potential to be sunny, if only we just break above the clouds. Consider the eagles; even in the fiercest of storms, they are able to rise above and soar without fear of falling. And this should be exactly how we go about our everyday lives.
We must rise above the confusion of life, above our emotional turmoil, and rest in the higher peace of God. So how can we do that? We can start by looking toward the end result of our struggles. Romans 5:3-5: "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
It may not seem like it at the moment, but the things we go through are all contributing toward a perfect, cosmic plan prepared by God. Therefore, we should try to find the good in each situation, knowing that in the end, we will finally understand.
What your goal?
Next, we have to look toward the ultimate end "heaven". A place with no sadness, no fear, only eternal joy in a holy God. This earth is fleeting; so instead of putting our confidence in a home that will fade, why not start building our heavenly home? As followers of Christ, we bear a mark that says we are not of this world. We learn to rise further and further above it with every struggle. And so, next days, we will learn what the view looks like from above.
Click the button below to download the Rise 66 days Log Sheet if you haven't done it yet.
Download Rise 66 Days Log Sheet
(( Tomorrow We Start - Day 46 "RISE-Above-Darkness of the World " ))
