For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.
— Romans 8:22-23
A music composer had a mischievous son who used to love to get under his father’s skin. Often, he would come in late at night when his father and mother were in bed. Before going to his room, he would go to the piano and loudly play a simple scale, all but the final note, thus leaving the scale incomplete.
The father, hearing the scale minus the final note, would writhe in his bed, unable to relax after hearing the unresolved scale. Finally, he would stumble downstairs to the piano and hit the final note. Only then would he be able to sleep.
It’s called catharsis… that felt need every single one of us has to resolve things that seem out of balance to us. It’s an innate feeling given to us by God to help us work toward and anticipate a time when every tension we have will be released and all things will be made new.
That day will happen when Jesus returns. That event will be the final note in the unfinished scale of history. It will be the day when all the wrongs are made right, all our sadness turns to joy, and our faith is made sight.
For now, we writhe and wait for the final note to be played. But trust in the Lord that the day is coming when all things will be complete and we’ll enter the rest He has for us!
Prayer Challenge:
Pray that God would give you the strength to endure any hardship you face by trusting in the promise of Christ’s return.
Questions for Thought:
When you think about Christ’s return, what unresolved problem that you have today are you most looking forward to being resolved?
How does the promise of Christ’s return help you endure hard times today?