Each one of us is on a journey to our final, and eternal, destination.  As Christians, we live with the confident assurance that our eternal home is with God.  But, we’re not home yet and there is a life to be lived as we journey toward heaven.  It is my prayer that this series of devotions will help you discover not only a glimpse of heaven, but that it would prepare you to more fully live like you are home even as you continue the journey.

This is day eleven from the devotional journal, “Almost Heaven: Devotions For the Journey Home”.  Each of these devotions are designed to help a person spend time with God in the process of discovering how He would have us to live as we prepare for an eternal home.

Almost Heaven:
A Home Of Hope

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints — the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.“
Colossians 1:3-5 (NIV)

Have you ever been in a situation that seemed hopeless?  Are you still in it or did you make it through?  What got you through, or keeps you going?  What role does encouragement, or the lack of it, at home have in your level of hope?  Does having a place of hope help you endure difficult situations?  How does the way you treat others change when you are filled with hope compared to when you feel hopeless?  Does knowing you are headed toward a home filled with hope help you share that hope with others?

There have been various times in my life when I felt like I was completely in over my head in situations that appeared to have no way out.  Some of those times were filled with such despair that it was only by holding on to the hope that I know awaits me in heaven that I managed to make it out of the darkness.  A home of hope will help us get through some of the most difficult times of life.  As you pray, ask God to fill you with the hope that is stored up for you in heaven.  Pray that your home here on earth would be one filled with hope.  Pray that you would freely share the hope you have in Christ with others.

In prayer,

Tom