"And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times."
-Psalm 12:6
There have been times in my recent past when this verse would have made me mad at God. I am coming out of a season of wrestling with what I know to be true and what I feel not lining up perfectly. Feeling like God let me down made it difficult to sing certain songs, hear certain verses, and even spend time with Him. It was a season of having to intentionally choose to sing, hear, and speak truth, even when I didn't feel it. As I have thought about this and looked back at what was going on in my heart, I realized what I think is the biggest difference in my current mindset that is now allowing me to feel what I know is true. I found that I don't interpret scripture correctly when I read it without an eternity mindset. This is not some big new idea in my mind, but the importance of it has become clear to me the last few days. I could argue against that verse in Psalm 12 and say that I feel as though He has not kept His promises to me. How could Jeremiah 29:11 be true about my life with everything He has allowed to happen? How can Romans 8:28 be applied to my life? I know my life is not terrible, but in moments of grief and anger, these are the kinds of questions I was facing. If all I focus on is my life on this earth, these kinds of questions would be valid. Even if my life was "perfect", I could ask these questions on behalf of the Christians across the world who are dying from disease, starvation, and persecution. How can we be promised a life of prosperity and no harm when Jesus also promises trouble? (John 16:33)
I have concluded that these things can't be reconciled unless we view them in light of eternity. In Jeremiah 29:10, God tells the Israelites that they are about to face 70 years of captivity, so we can't assume verse 11 is talking about right now. Most of the people who heard that promise wouldn't be alive to see it fulfilled. Does that mean God's words were flawed? Of course not. What if He was talking about something bigger than rescuing them from Babylon? What if He was talking about ten thousand years from then? Or one million years from then? The same reasoning can be applied to Romans 8:28. The church was going into a season of intense persecution, and yet Paul is telling them that "in all things, God works for the good of those who love him." How does that make sense? Only if we are not focusing on the few short years we have on this earth, but instead on the promise of never ending joy in eternity with Jesus. To be clear, I am not saying this life is just going to be horrible and and miserable and then Heaven will be when we finally experience all of God's promises. The prosperity, hope, peace, joy, victory, strength, love, and all the other things He promises us are absolutely available to us right now. But, I don't believe we can truly embrace them unless we have an eternal mindset.
In John 17:3, Jesus says "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we can have eternal life now! We can know Him intimately and when we are living a life of abiding in Him, trusting Him, and relying on Him, all those things He promised us will be evident. We will see the prosperity He gives through the many blessings we were perhaps blind to before. We will have hope because we will be confident in what is to come. We will be able to rest because He will fill us with His peace. We will have abundant joy bursting out of us from the knowledge of His death and resurrection, and His sacrifice that allows us to spend forever with Him. We will have victory over the enemy because we are filled with the Holy Spirit and nothing can stop our God. We will have His strength to endure until He comes back. We will experience His unconditional love because the more time we spend with Him, the clearer we will be able to see His fatherly face looking at us with pure affection. What a life this is! This is the life I want to life, and this is only a glimpse of what He has available for us. Did you notice that not one of those things depends on our circumstances? No matter what is going on around us or in us, these things can be maintained. Jesus came that we would have life to the full (John 10:10), and that starts now! So spend time with Jesus. Worship Him, read His words to you in the Bible, pray and have conversations with Him. Get to know Him, and that's when you will begin to experience eternal life, and you'll realize God truly does keep His promises.
There is one more thing I want to add. Spending this season of my life in the wrestling I mentioned at the beginning has opened my eyes even more to the incredible grace and mercy of our God. He is compassionate and understanding. He weeps with us, comforts us, endures our anger, and lets us vent to Him. He wants us to come to Him with everything we are feeling without being afraid of rejection. So if you are not currently experiencing "life to the full", do not feel ashamed. Know that is what He desires for you, but also know that He is with you through every circumstance, thought, and feeling. He will walk with you and carry you until you are able to fully embrace the promises He has for you. And you know what? It is still possible to have a deep root of joy even while you grieve. I know because I have experienced it. Keep singing, hearing, and speaking truth, and let your heart and mind focus on eternity. Spend time with Jesus and He will heal your heart. Your eternal life can start right now too.
