Good cheer!

A vacation trip is coming up!

Children get excited. The event is a milestone for them. They can’t stop telling their friends about it. They do a daily countdown. Do they worry about the trip tickets, hotel reservations, itinerary and budget? No.

Parents get harassed. The event is a milestone because of the kids. They can’t stop telling their friends about it because they need help, work to be delegated, a house to look after. They do a daily countdown but for each day that comes,  there are just too many things to be done yet.  Do they worry about the trip tickets, hotel reservations, itinerary and budget? Yes.

Great to be just the child. Worry-free because there’s mom and dad.

Difficult to be the parent. Worry-ful because there’s a child or children to look after.

So why can’t we just be like children and stop panicking when life treats us harshly? Shouldn’t we also be worry-free because there’s our Father who not only watches us but backs us up all the way?

There’s a grand trip we’re all preparing for—the journey to heaven.

But before that, there’s a life to live on earth. Nothing easy you know. It’s hard not to feel the pressure of debts to be paid, deficits in budget, a spouse to please, parents to understand, bosses to relate to, workers to motivate, neighbors to bear with and all other frustrations to hurdle.

A writer once wrote: “This is the age of the half-read page and the quick hash and the mad dash and the bright night with the nerves tight, the plane hop and the brief stop, the lamp tan in a short span, the big shot and the good spot, and the brain strain and the heart pain, and the cat naps till the spring snaps and the fun’s done and then comes taps.”

But when the going gets tough, the tough just got to keep going—but with a sense of excitement …hopefully.

Remember the children looking forward to a trip? They know that the burden of dealing with trip preparations is not theirs. There’s dad and mom.  So they take it easy and look forward to the trip because they’re in good hands.

The times in our life are in God’s hands…our Father’s hands. What could be better than that?

Yes, there will be times when you feel cut-off from God. Has he forgotten you? He seems deaf to your prayers.

Yet God tells us in Matthew 11:30—“Come to me all of you who are tired of carrying heavy load. For the yoke is easy and the burden I give you is light.”

How can problems be easy to bear?

Because they never belong to us in the first place. God takes care of them.

“Come to me and I will give you rest.”

Our part is to get closer to God, to grow in the love of Jesus and to carry out His will for our lives. That will carry us through no matter what the river of time may bring our way.

This is the time when God’s face is shining upon us. And “shining” means “smiling.” We have a God who came here personally to smile upon us while we walk and talk with Him.

This is the God who is able to do so much more than we can ask or imagine. Our future on earth and our forever future are in Hands. The Greyhound bus company in the U.S. used to have this slogan: “Leave the driving to us.” The God who is smiling on us says: “Leave the driving to me. You just trust me and I’ll get you where you need to go.”

American Idol Carrie Underwood sang something similar:

“Jesus, take the wheel. Take it from my hands

Cause I can’t do this on my own

I’m letting go. So give me one more chance

Save me from this road I’m on”

Jesus said in John 16:33: “In this world, you will have trouble, but don’t be afraid, I have overcome the world.”

So get excited in the same way the children do when a vacation is coming up. God in Heaven is taking care of everything. He too is excited for us to go back to Him and live in the houses He already prepared for all of us.

The next time you feel the world is tumbling down, simply pray Psalm 31:1ff—“In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge… Be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me…My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak… But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands; Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love.”

Our trip to Heaven is on. And God is working on the road we will pass to get there. So just relax and be a good cheer!