Awaiting and Anticipation

Tomorrow I’m picking someone up from the airport. It’s only been a week but I am beyond excited. I cannot wait for today to end just so that I can go to bed and wake up to go see them. Every part of my day today is viewed through a lens of utter joy knowing the good that is coming.

If picking a friend up from the airport can create that level of intimate joy, how much more should our delight be in the future return of Jesus.

I can feel the excitement in my day coursing through me. Today isn’t going flawlessly. I have a lingering cold. I didn’t get a great night’s sleep last night. I have a to-do list that is piling up. Our drain is smelling really weird and my car is still having problems.

But all of those things haven’t felt quite as significant. None of them have succeeded at robbing me of my joy.

Because yes, those things are inconvenient and not necessarily pleasant, but I am so entirely consumed with the joy over what is coming that there isn’t room in my heart for those things to take root.

I want my life to be as overflowing with delight at the coming of Christ as a week is knowing that I have someone important returning to me. If an imperfect person can cause such rejoicing how much greater should our excitement be over the Savior returning.

I’ll be honest, I spend so much of my life consumed by this world and life that I forget how much better lies ahead. The things I cannot wait for are most all earthly dreams. I forget that the greatest thing I could imagine is just around the corner.

No, we don’t know when Christ will return. In fact, it’s very likely that it won’t even happen while we are alive. However, that doesn’t mean that within the grand scheme of time, life won’t blink by and we’ll be together with Him in paradise. What we view as so long to wait will pass us by faster than we realize.

So within the seasons of this life that I want to cling onto every memory, and within the seasons where I am praying for God to take this from me, I want my heart to be overwhelmed with the joy that He is coming back. That is where I want my focus to be. That is where I want to find my delight.