Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. – 1 John 3:2-3
When our family emigrated from the Ukraine to the United States, we had a lot of hope. We anticipated a new life with freedom to worship God as we desired, and we were anxious to go. There were some problems to be overcome before that could happen, but I still had hope. I was expecting to go to the United States. So, I prepared by reading and learning about the country. If someone would have shown me a blank map of the United States, I could have pointed out and named each state. I thought about which part of the country we might live in. I was hoping, expecting, and preparing for our move.
Finally, all the hindrances were overcome, and we were on our way. As we neared Chicago, Illinois, the airplane had to pass through clouds. No problem was reported, but it seemed that the pilot was doing many maneuvers, wing adjustments and so forth, and not landing. We looked out, but there was nothing to see except clouds.
Then, all of a sudden, we flew below the clouds. We were coming toward the city from above Lake Michigan, and to the left I could see downtown Chicago, which is one of the most beautiful skylines in the world. In that moment, what we had hoped for was near. We were about to touch down in America!
Sometimes our spiritual lives may be like my family’s emigration experience. At times we will have problems and difficulties. We may feel as if we are in the clouds and it is hard to see what is happening. Our only hope is that our Pilot does know what He is doing, and we trust in Him. We anticipate the day when we will actually see Him, but right now we may only see “maneuvering,” “wing adjustments,” and “clouds.” We want to hold on to our hope, because one day, as quickly as we blink our eyes, we will be caught up to meet the Lord! What we see that day will be far more beautiful than any skyline in this world. Our hopes will be fulfilled because we trusted in God. Our waiting and preparations will not have been in vain.
What a day to anticipate! Maybe Jesus will come today.