Introduction
The Lord has written us into His Book of Life. What greater assurance could we receive than the assurance of salvation? Through faith in Jesus Christ, we are given the promise of eternal life and the hope of dwelling with Him forever. Yet this promise is not a license to live as we please. We are called to follow His ways, walk in obedience, pursue holiness, and allow the Holy Spirit to transform our lives.
Everything this world offers is temporary. Its pleasures fade. Its possessions perish. Its kingdoms rise and fall. Even our earthly lives are but a moment when measured against eternity. But God offers what this world can never provide: eternal life that never ends.
Rejoice
We can rejoice because life as we know it will not last. Think about what awaits us. The joys of heaven will far surpass the pleasures of this present world. What God gives us will never perish. We will share in Christ’s victory and reign with Him. The worries, disappointments, sorrows, and discouragements of this present life will one day be gone. And perhaps most remarkably, the lessons learned through our trials will not have been wasted. God is sovereign over every circumstance. Nothing we experience is beyond His ability to redeem and use for His purposes. The difficulties of this earthly journey will not simply disappear into the dust; God can use them to shape us, strengthen us, teach us, and prepare us for eternity.
There are Conditions
Some may say, “Yes, but there is a condition to this salvation.”
There is indeed a cost to following Christ. Scripture repeatedly calls us to faith, repentance, obedience, perseverance, and holiness. Yet who, understanding the value of eternity, would willingly exchange the promise of life with God for a few fleeting moments of earthly pleasure? Again I say, the pleasures of this world are temporary. The promises of God are eternal.
This does not mean that following Christ will make our earthly lives easy. Jesus Himself warned us that we would have tribulation. We may face illness, persecution, rejection, disappointment, loss, temptation, and trials of many kinds. Some trials may become so severe that we wonder how much longer we can endure. There may be moments when the burden of this life seems almost unbearable.
But even these trials are temporary.
Our enemy, Satan, may seek to discourage, deceive, tempt, and destroy, but he does not have the final word. God does.
The suffering we experience in this present age cannot be compared with the glory that awaits those who belong to Christ. What seems unbearable today will one day be behind us. What is temporary will give way to what is eternal. What causes us to weep today will not have the power to follow us into eternity.
I do not write these words as though the journey were easy. The trials we enter into may be long and arduous with no end in site. I understand the difficulty of trusting God when answers do not come, obeying when obedience is costly, persevering when strength is failing, and continuing to hope when circumstances seem to offer little reason for hope.
That is precisely why this study is necessary.
Don’t be spiritually lazy. As your life continues, explore and understand the difference between the temporal and the eternal—between what is passing away and what will endure forever. Have hope that these reflections will encourage us to look beyond our present circumstances and fix our hearts upon the promises of God.
The temporal demands our attention, but the eternal deserves our devotion.
May we learn to trust Him more deeply, obey Him more faithfully, persevere through every trial, and overcome through the strength He provides. And may we never allow the temporary pleasures or troubles of this present world to cause us to lose sight of the eternal glory that awaits those who remain faithful to Christ.
What we see is temporary. What God has promised is eternal.
This life is temporary. His promise is eternal.
And because eternity is before us, we have every reason to hope, every reason to trust, and every reason to remain faithful. Whatever circumstance you are in, first repent if needed, then remember “this too will pass”. People, including yourself, will forget. Time never absolves us from sin, but it does heal memories that are the result of errors, stupidity, lack of knowledge, and even just making mistakes. Therefore, rejoice with exceeding joy. Learn from the incident, and even if you do it again – pick yourself up and move forward. It’s a discipline and can be learned if practiced.
Happiness: A Choice?
Yes, I believe it can be. We can choose to wallow in self-pity, continually rehearsing our disappointments and failures, or we can consciously turn our attention toward what is good, true, and worthy of praise. Scripture gives us clear direction:
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8–9 (ESV)
Paul does not merely tell us to think about these things; he tells us to practice what we have learned, received, heard, and seen. Christian living is intentional. We make choices about what we allow our minds to dwell upon and what we choose to practice.
This does not mean that we ignore disappointment, pain, failure, or difficult circumstances. It means that we refuse to allow those things to become the center of our lives.
Choosing What We Dwell Upon
Recently, I went through a very humiliating ordeal. It was not sinful, but it clearly demonstrated that I had failed to heed the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and the counsel of my family. I was deeply remorseful. In fact, I wished the day had never happened.
Then another thought came to me: What if it had been sin? The consequences could have been devastating. The thought caused me to consider just how serious our choices can be when we disregard the wisdom God provides through His Spirit and through those He has placed around us.
I was overwhelmed by remorse. But I realized that continuing to replay the incident in my mind would accomplish nothing. I could not change what had happened. I could only learn from it and decide what to do about it. So I deliberately began to think about the good things I had done things that required me to listen to the Holy Spirit, exercise wisdom, and submit to the sound counsel of those around me.
My mood began to change almost immediately.
Then I recognized something else: perhaps the humiliation itself had accomplished something good. It humbled me—and I needed humbling. That was difficult to admit, but it was also freeing. The experience became a reminder that even our failures, disappointments, and humiliations can become instruments through which God teaches us, corrects us, and draws us closer to Him. Paul writes:
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (ESV)
Notice that Scripture does not say that everything that happens is good. Some things are painful. Some are humiliating. Some are consequences of our own poor decisions. Some are simply difficult circumstances that we would never have chosen for ourselves.
Yet God can work through all things for our good and according to His purpose. That changes how we look at life. We must keep our eyes on the finish line. With that comes a hope that only believers have.
Why Do We Choose Misery?
This led me to another question: Why do people sometimes seem to be attracted to misery?
The familiar saying, “Misery loves company,” came to mind.
Why does misery seek companionship when things go wrong? Perhaps because we are relational beings. When we find someone who shares our disappointment, anger, frustration, or sorrow, we may feel validated. Someone else understands us. Someone else agrees with us. Someone else confirms that our circumstances are as bad as we believe. There can be comfort in that validation—but there is also danger. If we continually surround ourselves with people who reinforce our discouragement, bitterness, anger, or self-pity, we may never move beyond those emotions. Instead of helping us rise above our circumstances, we can become comfortable living beneath them.
There is a difference between acknowledging sorrow and choosing to dwell in sorrow. The Christian life does not require us to pretend that everything is wonderful. We will experience grief, disappointment, humiliation, loss, and even failure. Jesus Himself was described as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
But sorrow does not have to become our identity. We can acknowledge what happened without allowing it to control what happens next. We can repent when we have sinned, learn when we have failed, receive correction when we need it, and then turn our minds toward the things God has called us to consider.
What is true? What is honorable? What is just? What is pure? What is lovely? What is commendable? What is excellent? What is worthy of praise? These are not merely positive thoughts. They are biblical thoughts. And when we deliberately set our minds upon the things of God, we discover that happiness is not simply a feeling that happens to us. There is an element of choice in how we respond to the circumstances God allows into our lives. We may not be able to choose every circumstance. But, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can choose where we allow our minds to dwell, what we do with our disappointments, and whether we will remain in self-pity or seek the peace of God.
Sometimes, choosing joy begins with choosing what we think about.
Supporting Scriptures
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 ESV
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11 ESV
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22 ESV
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. Galatians 5:22 ESV
So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. John 16:22 ESV
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:11 ESV
Do you believe? Your actions display your real beliefs.
Conclusion
Rejoice—and again I say, rejoice!
It is time to put heaven before us and the world behind us. We sing about it. We preach about it. We speak of longing for heaven and being with our Savior. But now it is time to live as though we truly believe it.
Heaven is our eternal home; this world is only a temporary stop along the way. Whatever trials, disappointments, sorrows, or victories we experience here, they will one day pass away. What will remain is our relationship with Jesus Christ and the glorious promise that we will be with Him forever.
Think about that for a moment. Forever with Jesus.
What a reunion that will be! What joy awaits us—joy beyond anything we can presently comprehend. Every tear, every disappointment, every unanswered question, and every moment when we wondered whether remaining faithful was worth it will finally be seen in the light of eternity.
And perhaps, in that moment, we will look back and realize that trusting Him was worth everything.
What a day that will be! What a homecoming! We will reunite with family and loved ones that have gone before us. What a joy it will be to see our Savior face to face and finally experience the fullness of His presence. Even now, simply thinking about that promise should bring a smile to our faces and hope to our hearts.
So rejoice!
Do not allow the temporary troubles of this world to steal the joy that belongs to those whose hope is in Christ. Lift your eyes beyond today. Set your heart on eternity. Walk faithfully with your Savior, knowing that this world is not your final destination. Our worst case scenario is our best case scenario – death and eternity with Him. This is how the martyrs can rejoice.
The best is in sight.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13 ESV
Enough Said
“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16 ESV
