The Code breaker
Do you remember, or remember hearing about, "The Secret Decoder Rings" back in the day? These Decoder Rings gave you the ability to break secret codes in notes or letters and helped you understand a hidden plan or purpose. Well, I feel like I have been given a “Ring” and a "code breaker" word (which of course comes with it) and I didn’t even have to purchase Cracker Jacks or Ovaltine! The “code breaker” word is "Eternity" (or the phrase "Eternal Perspective"). Because of this, as I read the Bible, I am beginning to see and understand more of the Lord’s Eternal perspective. The more I am in the Word, the more I am shifting from the "temporal" view into the Eternal perspective. When I do that, scripture seems to change before my eyes and a new door of understanding opens up! So, I have come to see the word "eternity" as a "code breaker" into the thoughts of God.Light and momentary troubles
Maybe it is because we are so consumed with the "here and now", day to day grind of our lives that we tend to get stuck here. We have a hard time seeing beyond our “here and now" into our "eternal" life because it seems so far away and not at all applicable to us at this time. In addition, we tend to bring God into this perspective and then expect Him to see and respond to things the way we do. We say "Lord! Why aren’t you seeing this and DOING something about it!!" or "I know you can fix this, so what's stopping you or holding You back?" The fact is, He IS doing something!! But, because He is more interested in our "eternal" future, His way of "fixing" and “doing” things is going to look a bit different than what we think it should look like! So now, let’s slip on our decoder rings and insert the code breaker "Eternal Perspective". These temporal difficulties and struggles we go through are exactly the things God uses to form and shape us into the tools He needs for His Eternal Kingdom! James 1:2 says "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds...” 1 Peter 4:12 says "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering...” In 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 Paul lists out all of the sufferings and difficulties he endured for the sake of the gospel: "I have worked much harder, been in prison... flogged...exposed to death again and again... beaten with rods,.. stoned... shipwrecked,.. constantly on the move... been in danger from rivers, bandits, from my own countrymen, from Gentiles; I have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger ...thirst and...I have been cold and naked..." But in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Paul says "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Wow. Did you catch that? Even through all of his trials and difficulties, he still had his eyes fixed on the eternal perspective!!
Do you trust Me?
A few years ago Tom and I went through an especially difficult and stretching time in our walk with the Lord. We kept seeking God and questioning Him as to what was going on and asking why it was happening, because it totally went against our ideas of what should be happening and against our common sense. One morning, during the worship time at church, the Lord spoke to my heart and said “Linda, I do not make mistakes. I am not a man that I would make a mistake but I am perfect. Even when things “look” like they are out of control there is nothing that is out of MY control. You just need to trust me”. So, we did trust Him and, even though that season was very difficult and stretching, we watched God do amazing things, not only in the provision of our daily lives but also in our hearts and in our relationship with Him. Our faith and trust in Him grew exponentially more than it ever would have during any “good and easy” times we have had. God’s loving Hands are using difficult situations to shape, mold and refine us for His “eternal” purposes…And He asks us, “Do you trust Me?”
Are we there yet?
From Genesis (3:15) to Malachi (3:1) God was proclaiming the coming of the Messiah and, because of this, I am sure that every generation throughout that time thought that the Messiah was coming in their lifetime! But the Old Testament spans thousands of years and there was even 400 years between Malachi, the last book of the OT, and the New Testament with the coming of Jesus… In the “temporal” perspective, that is a lot of years!! Then, when Christ did arrive on earth, what did He talk about the most? Think about that for a minute. Wasn't it ALL about His return and the "Kingdom of Heaven " (or the "Kingdom of God kingdom of God
It’s about “Time”!
I love Henry Cloud’s definition of time in his book "Changes that Heal" when he said that "time was an incubator for redemption". I love it! Being a visual person, I now see time as a silver "Air Stream" trailer popped into the eternal time line. The eternal time line goes before, during and after this trailer, but in order for us to be redeemed, God placed us in a “time” incubator to provide for our redemption. So "time", for each one of us, is just a blip on the radar, a blink of an eye, a hick-up in eternity... Let's consider the following scripture: "As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more..." Psalms 103:15-16 (see also, Isaiah 40:6-7 and Isaiah 51:12) Why did Jesus come to earth and die?? John 3:16 says it is so that we should not perish but "have eternal life..." not “temporal” life. I don't think that God is as concerned with the here and now as we are... When I slip on my decoder ring, it appears to me that He is much more concerned with our lives after we have gone from time (our little air stream trailer) into eternity and His Kingdom. This life on earth is just a temporary training period… sort of like our “eternal” boot camp!
The Healing Pool
One of the things that has baffled me in my Christian walk is the aspect of God’s “healing". I believe it is for us in the “here and now” as it was for the disciples and that we have been given the power and ability to do what Jesus did through the Holy Spirit (John 14:12). But... why don't we see it more often in our lives and why are some people healed and some aren't? When we take out our secret decoder rings and insert God's "eternal" perspective, I think we will get a clearer picture of the "whys". When Jesus' disciples asked "Master, was it because of this man's sin, or the sin of his father and mother, that he has been blind from birth?" (John 9:2) Jesus answered "this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." (John 9:3) It was for GOD’S GLORY! God is looking to "display" and reveal Himself and His glory to all those who would care to see it, through us! There is another story in John 5 about a pool that "a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed." in the hopes that, when the water was stirred, they would be the first ones in and be healed. But, when Jesus was there, he singled out one man and healed him... but, what about the others? He was certainly able to heal them, but why some and not others? I believe it is because God has an “eternal plan” that he was working through Jesus to accomplish while He was on this earth. He went through the area healing and restoring those people that would communicate His Love and compassion in multifaceted ways, sort of like getting the most "bang" for his buck...!! He knew, and still knows, the most effective way to accomplish His plan for His eternal glory
What are you praying for?
One day recently, I met with a women and she was sharing with me that she was struggling with some physical issues that had really had an impact on her life... in a major way! These issues caused her to be at home and in bed for a much longer period of time than she would have liked. While she was telling me her story, I kept hearing, "it was the result of a prayer". I heard it a couple of times so finally I asked her, "have you been praying for something in particular lately?" She responded pretty quickly with "Yes, I have been praying to go deeper with the Lord". So, I asked her if she has been spending more time with the Lord while she has been ill... and then, the mental light went on, and the tears started to flow. She had been SO busy with ministry and family prior to her illness that she didn't have time for the Lord, so God used the illness as an opportunity to answer her prayer to go deeper!! She recalled with tears, that in one of her times with the Lord, He spoke to her heart and said "I missed you". I believe that God will do whatever he has to do to get us to SEE Him and turn to Him for our "eternal" good! During this same meeting, the Lord prompted me to pray for her. While I was praying I heard the Lord say, "She was healed, is healed, and is being healed"... Don't you just want to say "excuse me? I don't quite get that Lord...?" But again, we need to take out our secret decoder rings and insert "eternal" perspective. God said in Isaiah 46:10 "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please." He is not locked in with time but can move in, out and around time, anyway He pleases. So, we ALL have been, are being, and will be healed, when and how He chooses. Our bodies are just "tents" for our eternal spirits and, because God proclaimed that we “would surely die” in Genesis 2:17 our bodies will eventually need to go... So, He focuses more on our eternal "emotional" and "spiritual" healing more than our "physical" healing. This makes so much more sense to me now!! It is all about what will transition from time into eternity with Him!
Remember the “E” ticket!
When I went to Disneyland as a kid, you purchased a booklet of tickets lettered “A” thru “E” and the best tickets were the “E” tickets because they got you on the best rides in the park!! When you went home, if there were any tickets left, typically they were not the “E” tickets! So, that is how I am viewing the “Eternal perspective”, it is the best ride in the house when it comes to understanding God! I would encourage you also to use the code breaker word "Eternity" when you read scripture and see if it does not open up a whole new understanding!! Here is one of my favorite scriptures, Jeremiah 29:11, and, while I believe it applies to the here and now, I think it has much more of an impact when you see it through the eternal eyes of God: “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future…”
Lord, I pray that we all will use our “E” tickets and secret decoder rings in all aspects of our lives and learn to see YOUR eternal perspective in everything we say and do. Help us to look past the here and now and into what you may be doing in our hearts and lives to mold us and shape us into the tools you need for Your Eternal Kingdom
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