That Blessed Hope | Northpoint Church

7.18.2019

That Blessed Hope

By Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministries

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. – 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. – Titus 2:13

Hello Church Family,

Mrs. Murphy’s wheelchair was a fixture at my home church. Most of the time, it sat in a corner of a room off the platform, waiting for its occupant. Then, just before Sunday service, Mr. Warren, Mr. Shook, or another faithful servant would help Mrs. Murphy get her twisted body from a car into her chair and wheel her in for worship.

And worship she did! With her face cocked to one side, she’d listen to the singing, the preaching, and the testimonies. Mrs. Murphy worshiped in spirit more than body, because her body was broken. Blinded and paralyzed in a car accident years before, her movement and her life were almost entirely limited. So there was a profound irony in her oft-repeated testimony of hope and joy in the Lord, “Once I was blind, but now I see.” You see, it was not until her car accident that Mrs. Murphy found Jesus Christ.

Fanny J. Crosby, the blind hymn-writer of the 19th century, had a very similar spirit. Born blind, she often rejoiced that the very first thing she’d ever see would be the face of Jesus when she awoke after death.

It was Jesus who spoke this world into being. With an eye for beauty, He gave shape to a formless world. With a heart of love, He filled its emptiness for us to enjoy. Being the Lord of Life—the Great I Am—God gave us life, so He could give us the world for our own. Blind eyes and broken bodies remind us that sin has marred the good world God gave us. Wars and rumors of wars tell us that what’s wrong with this world is us. It was our sin that broke the beautiful world we received. But that’s not the end of the story.

A look at my life, these days, reminds me how much I need Mrs. Murphy’s testimony. My body is telling me I’m no longer young. Things I’ve aspired to all my life still seem to elude me, and with each passing year, the hope that I’m progressing becomes more of a sham. What am I striving for, anyway? When my parents passed away, I moved up in line. Now I’m one step closer to life’s back door. The door marked, “Exit.”

Not to worry. I’ve got Jesus—or rather, He has me. I was made from the stuff of this world, and my body’s passing away with it. But in Christ Jesus, I’ve been recreated for another world, where sin and its brokenness are defeated. Jesus opened death’s door and leads to life. An old song has new meaning, ringing with hope.

This world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through.
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door,
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

Just up in Glory Land we’ll live eternally.
The saints on ev’ry hand are shoutin’ victory.
Their songs of sweetest praise drift back from heaven’s shore.
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

O Lord, You know I have no friend like You.
If heaven’s not my home, then Lord what will I do?
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door,
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

There’s a phrase you hear every now and then, “It’s all good!” Well, no. Not really. This world and our lives are clearly broken. It’s not all good. But in Christ, we have hope. One day it will be—and so will we.

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/