Keep your heart with all vigilance,
   for from it flow the springs of life.
 
  Proverbs 4:23 ESV


Dear Doves,

From God’s perspective, our hearts are a crucial issue in our lives.  Our hearts produce the life blood that allows us to love and be loved. It is the essence of who we are. You could say, its the “real” us. It’s no wonder the Bible mentions the heart over and over. Yet our hearts can be attacked. Evil knows this all too well and is relentless in his attacks. This will be so until the day we finally go home. Remember, we were born into a world at war. The war is over our hearts.

Yes, Evil lost the war for our souls, but he continues the daily assault over our hearts. He fights to bring anything that can divide our allegiance to Jesus. We all know what forms this takes place in our lives. We are constantly tempted with false comforters that promise everything yet deliver nothing but pain, guilt, and heartache. We long to free, but cannot be totally free until we are out of the snare of this world. And the fact that we live in a place we were not originally designed for has wreaked havoc on us.

Our bodies ache. We are tired. We have been betrayed by those who were suppose to love and protect us. We have had times of plenty, only to be replaced by times of few. We have been hurt deeply in relationships. And at times, we have either intentionally or unintentionally hurt those we love the most. Life has been hard, yet our Lord has been gracious beyond comparison. He gives us daily “ gracelets” because He is a good Father and delights in us.

Yet, through it all, we want to go home. Like Dorothy said, “There’s no place like home.” We are indeed strangers and aliens in a world that is hostile to our spirits. No matter how good things may be in certain seasons of our lives, it feels like something is not quite right. Paul longed to go home. Jesus desired to be with Father. Are we, who have been born of the Spirit, any different?

That’s what draws many of us to Five Doves and places like Five Doves. It’s more than discussing eschatological ideas and theories. More than simply sharing our views about current events. More than trying to figure out when the Rapture will take place. More than all the dreams and visions.  The universal thread that binds us together is the ache in our hearts. And that ache will not abate. We have tried to soothe it by our own means, but failed. No matter how young or old we are, how good or not so good life is, we cry, “It’s time for to go home.” In a sense, we miss our Daddy. We keep looking for him out the window like a small child waiting for her father to come home from a long business trip. And like that small child, we have no sense of time. It’s excruciating to wait through another season. “Why won’t He come now? Why does He make us wait?” We can become embittered, albeit in a tidy religious way. And therein lies our challenge, we must guard our hearts against the enemy’s darts.

Jesus will come back someday. It would cool to be raptured, but there are no guarantees. We could suddenly die tomorrow, or he could tarry for years to come. We just don’t know. Somehow, we have to be OK with that. We gotta plan for tomorrow. We simply can’t wait for a Rapture that may never happen in our lifetime. Jesus has sent us the True Comforter to help us while we are alive in this hostile environment. He’ll see us through. He promises. We somehow need to believe that.

Life is not a bed of roses, but what we want most, to love and be loved by our God, is something no circumstance can separate us from. Let us make the most of our remaining days, months, years, or decades that our Lord may grant us. Let us seize the day and live this life unashamedly for Jesus. Soon enough we’ll be in our real home. Meanwhile, we’ll peek out the front window now and then to hopefully see him come down the driveway. What a day that will be!
 

You are blessed, forgiven, and deeply loved by our God. Soon the ache
will cease.
 

Blessings,
 

Steve W.