* Farther Along, We'll Know

Do not envy sinners in your heart. Instead, continue to fear the Lord. There is indeed a future, and your hope will never be cut off.
Proverbs 23:17-18 GWT (God's Word translation)

Envious of sinners?!? Never!!! Right? Check your heart...

When things go wrong for us - those of us who are trying to follow in Christ's footsteps - and the blatant sinner goes merrily along, seemingly without a care, do we sometimes wish we had their life? Their money?  

Do we ever wish that we didn't feel conviction of the Holy Spirit - the conviction that makes us say, "No, I can't do that or go there..."? The conviction that makes us hold our tongue when what we really want to do is tell them off? I don't need to list any more examples, your heart may have already taken you to a similar situation.

That's being envious of sinners in our hearts. There's an old hymn titled "Farther Along" - one of my very favorites. It talks about wondering why we're always tempted and tried and why it has to be like that when sinners don't seem to be bothered at all. Oh, there's some lamenting in it, but then there's the verse that reminds us of the Truth of today's text - There is indeed a future, and your hope will never be cut off.  The last verse starts with, "When we see Jesus coming in glory...'  THAT's when we'll know that NOTHING on this Earth compares to what waits for us in glory.

Oh, dear one, when we see Jesus coming in glory - coming to take us home with Him - we will be thrilled that we chose not to envy, but rather continued to fear the Lord! Hold this Truth in your heart - There is indeed a future, and your hope will never be cut off. As the song says, "Farther along, we'll know all about it."

Prayer:

Father,
           Thank You for the Truth of Your Word - the conviction and encouragement that comes from it. The promises and our confident hope in its life-giving instructions. Father, give us wisdom AND understanding. Help us to see there is indeed a future. Keep our feet on the path to our eternity with You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen