Moanin’ and Groanin’

2 Corinthians 5:1-2  For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,

The older I get, the more my body hurts. My working hard and playing harder are catching up to me sooner than I expected. My physical body has taken it’s toll, and my mind troubles me consistently as a result of bad decisions and more than likely genetics too. I could easily fill this devo with my list of “groans.” But the deepest groan comes from within, the longing for that eternity in paradise. When you begin to search the scriptures and see the promises of God for what He has prepared for you, for eternity, how can the Spirit inside you not long to go home? The closer you draw to Him, the peace and desire of that security swell. Romans 8:23  Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, when we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

We deal with many types of afflictions for our short time here. They may come as physical, emotional, or just the strains of daily life. They all pass through God’s filter, and they all can draw you closer to Him, and glorify Him as a result of whatever you are facing today. 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Matthew Henry speaks of the apostles and “whereupon they weighed things aright in the balance of the sanctuary; they did as it were put the heavenly glory in one scale and their earthly sufferings in the other; and, pondering things in their thoughts, they found afflictions to be light, and the glory of heaven to be a far more exceeding weight.” Whatever you find yourself facing today, give it to God, give the glory to God, and rest in the assurance that it is only for a short time, to prepare you for eternity.