Joy In Tomorrow

“And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation.” (Ps 35:9 AV)

I love the future tense of this verse.  I love the certainty of David’s outlook.  He is currently in distress.  He is persecuted by those to whom he shows the utmost kindness.  Even when mistreated, he treats his enemies very well.  Yet they don’t get it.  They continue on.  The more he loves, as Paul says, the less he is loved.  In the midst of his complaint, he makes this statement.  He can because he knows the nature of God.  He knows that regardless of his present situation, his future will always be bright.  He knows no matter what life is presently like, the future looks outstanding!  That is the way to go through life!

The present may stink, but the future does not.  The older I get, the less I can tolerate cold winters.  Yuk!  I was watching a docuseries on a lost expedition to Siberia.  A group of younger college students embarked on a winter trip over a pass in Siberia.  The entire expedition was lost.  All fourteen of the college students perished.  The mystery is how and why.  This expedition exited their tent as though they were in an emergency.  Not one was dressed.  They all had bare feet.  It appeared as though they left in a hurry and something kept them from returning.  The tent was destroyed.  The stove was never assembled and used.  A real mystery.  This docuseries retraced the steps of the expedition in the same time of year.  Albeit, almost 75 years later.  What struck me as I was watching this is the extreme cold and remoteness of this trip.  The weather got down to thirty below zero without a wind chill factor.  They were camping in tents.  The closest village of any sort was a two-hour snowmobile ride away.  There isn’t enough money in the world to get me to do that.  One shot had the host and two guides talking about the possibilities of demise.  They stood in open tundra with the wind gusting around them.  All I could think of was how to get out of there.  What did they have to look forward to?  Two hours away there was heat and more permanent structures.  It was the fact this docuseries was coming to an end and as soon as they got all their shots, they were headed home.

Our lives are not perfect.  Along the way we will have troubles and trials.  There will be times when we think survival is impossible.  There are days when it seems the sun never shines.  There are days we wonder if God even cares.  Those days, although common, are not permanent.  Like the docuseries crew, we have a limited time in a state of trial.  The time we have in glory is eternity.  The seventy years or so of our earthly journey is not even comparable to forever!  This is why David could rejoice in a reality did not have, but eventually will have.  This is why life was more than tolerable.  It was survivable.  This is why David could thrive and not merely survive.  Our eyes are in the wrong place.  As little orphan Annie sang, “Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I love ya, Tomorrow; you’re only a day away”.  There is a home in heaven with my name written on it.  There is one for you, too.  Most of all, the unfiltered presence of God resides there.  The joys of glory cannot be compared.  There is nothing like it.  Joy abounds and troubles cease.  That is why our hope is always in the future.  Not in the present.