You’ve likely been there before. You plan to get up at the crack of dawn to head out on vacation, and the night before, you find yourself lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, and listening to the clock tick. You couldn’t go to sleep if your life depended on it.
That happened to Alice and me a few years ago as we planned to make a 700-mile road trip to our daughter’s home in Nebraska. At around one in the morning, we were both wide awake, tossing and turning, trying to fall back to sleep. The next thing we knew we were loading luggage into the SUV and driving into the night.
“At least we’ll get there sooner.”
I had never driven at night like that, at least not for an extended period of time. And all went well until we headed down those long stretches of desolate highway between Memphis and St. Louis.
It was an eerie feeling to travel down the road only able to see what was directly in front of me. After a while, your mind can play tricks on you, and a barrage of improbable scenarios starts flashing through your mind - a vehicle stalled on the highway just over the next hill, a deer and his friends dashing out in front of the car, and then there’s always the havoc that Bigfoot might bring.
As Alice and I drove down the interstate, we were, of course, grateful for the light we did have. Headlights do come in handy. But all the while, we were waiting for a greater light.
For Christians, that’s where we find ourselves, isn’t it? We are thankful for the light we have today. There’s the light within, by God’s grace. And there’s the light we see around us. There is an abundance of light, despite what the headlines say.
But Christians live in anticipation of a greater Light. That Dayspring from on high. And the Bible promises that day will happen.
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
The Lord will return to take His children to that home that every Christian longs for. That’s a guarantee from God Himself.
When Paul reminded the Thessalonians that Christ was returning, he told them not to keep that good news to themselves. Inspired by God, he said, “Therefore encourage one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:18).”
I challenge you to spend a few minutes meditating on the wonder that the Light of the world will appear one day. Jesus will come to rescue His people from this sin-stained world.
And, as you find encouragement in that wonder, ask God for the opportunity to pass along that same encouragement to someone else.
