I pause at the threshold, the open doors of the thatch-roofed cabana giving way to an enthralling expanse of turquoise water and brilliant blue sky. My sheer cotton cover-up ruffles pleasantly as a sweet, paradise-scented breeze passes by. After two solid minutes of just breathing it in, I make my way, barefoot, across pale sand to the sage and cream- striped hammock strung between two gently bowed palm trees, a new novel from my favorite author tucked under my arm. I ease in, indulging in a peaceful exhalation of weightlessness. All is right with the world. Or…is it? I suddenly feel something, viscous and wet, slightly warm, flattening beneath the back of my head. I glance up and spy a pair of brilliant birds peering down at me from the limb directly above, and I know.

I’ve just laid my head in parrot poo.

**************************************

Ok, this didn’t actually happen, but I wanted to lay a visual out for a little something I like to call “life”.

There’s always something, isn’t there?

Even when you have a good routine going, even if your husband (or wife) is kind and thoughtful, even when your finances are steady, and your kids are thriving in school, life is never worry-free. Someone will hurt you. Something will break. Someone will get sick. The cat will stick his dirty tongue in the salt water you heated up to gargle with because you’re trying to get rid of the gunk clogging up your throat so you have to get up from writing to yell and chase him off the counter. Just me? Ok then. The point is, no matter who you are, or how amazing your current life circumstances may be, problems will come. Always. And there’s a simple explanation why:

This isn’t heaven.

As beautiful as this life can be, there will always be poo.

And maybe, right now, you can’t relate at all to the “life is great” paragraph. Maybe life kind of sucks. Maybe your marriage is hard. Maybe your singleness is lonely. Maybe your kids are struggling and the bills are piling up. Maybe it feels like it truly is ALWAYS something. Again, I say, with compassion:

This isn’t heaven.

As grueling and exhausting as this life can be, it’s not forever.

Having an eternal perspective makes all the difference in the world, whether you’re in-between problems right now or outright drowning in them.

Let me offer you hope right now:

There is also always something to rejoice in.

This isn’t heaven, but heaven is real.

This temporary existence, with all its beauty and all its suck, is meant to point us to True Life, because something inside us tells us over and over again: this isn’t it. And you’re right!

One thing people struggle with when it comes to trusting God is the very real, undeniable existence of pain and suffering. You often hear, understandably, “If God is good, why does he allow (fill in the blank)? Why doesn’t he do something?”.

Well, friends, I have good news: he has done something.

God didn’t just plunk humans down on Earth and sit back with an extra-large tub of popcorn. He created us specifically to know him and be in relationship with him, and since the very beginning, he’s made himself known to us!

He designed an unbelievably cool place for us, with oxygen and food and beauty and duckbill platypi. We chose sin, broke our relationship with God, and life got rough. ( The whole book of Genesis)

He saw our pain and suffering and, because he is good, he chose not to leave us there. (Exodus 3:7-9)

He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sin, taking the punishment we deserve. (John 3:16)

He gave us eyewitnesses to testify to the bodily resurrection as Christ defeated death and rose from the grave. (1 John 1:1-4) Also, they believed so completely in what they saw and experienced they went to their gruesome deaths holding fast to what they proclaimed rather than to recant and live.

He gave us the Scriptures so we could know the whole story and know how to live. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

He told us that those who believe and follow Jesus will also have eternal life with him in heaven and there will be NO MORE POO (paraphrased). (1 Corinthians 2:9)

He said he will be with us always, and that we could cast all our cares on him, because he cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7)

These promises have carried believers since the very beginning, their assurance in the good and faithful character of God and the hope of heaven overcoming their fear or discomfort in present difficulty. And believe me, some of them really went through it. Paul wrote most of the New Testament in chains.

Eternal perspective changes everything, including our response to our circumstances. Because we aren’t meant to just sit on the sidelines. Sometimes we can resolve our problems by changing our behaviors or surroundings. Sometimes we can’t. But we never have to feel defeated, because there’s also always something we can do.

If you don’t have that assurance of heaven, you can give your life to Christ right now. You can, with God’s help, choose to live differently. You can get involved in a local church and be known and loved. You don’t have to do this life on your own.

If you do know Jesus, you can be intentional to reach into the lives of the people around you and share the hope you have in God, even when things are hard. You can lean on God and on the church when you are the one struggling. You can pray, and expect to find God faithful.

Knowing God puts all of life, sunshine and rain, into right perspective.

Comfort, ease, and wealth offer no real value if the life to come is eternal separation from God and all that is good, so while we can be thankful for our blessings, we can’t put our hope in our temporary, earthly success.

We will have troubles in this life. That, my friend, is guaranteed. But if we know God, we will have wisdom for today and hope for tomorrow. This isn’t heaven, but heaven is coming because Jesus is coming back.

Whatever “something” you’ve been looking for to fill the void, to ease the pain, to reassure you this life full of trouble isn’t meaningless (Ecclesiastes, anyone? ) this is it. He is it. Always.

Find rest. Hopefully not in a hammock with parrot poo.

Angela

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”- John 16:33