Our Daily Bread Ministries

Our Daily Bread

Thursday,
December 15, 2016

One Short Sleep
Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18

We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8

Henry Durbanville, a Scottish pastor from another era, told the story of an elderly woman in his parish who lived in a remote part of Scotland. She longed to see the city of Edinburgh, but she was afraid to take the journey because of the long, dark tunnel through which the train had to pass to get there.

One day, however, circumstances compelled her to go to Edinburgh, and as the train sped toward the city, her agitation increased. But before the train reached the tunnel, the woman, worn out with worry, fell fast asleep. When she awoke she had already arrived in the city!

It’s possible that some of us will not experience death. If we’re alive when Jesus returns, we will “meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:13–18). But many of us will pass into heaven through death and for some that thought causes great anxiety. We worry that the process of dying will be too difficult to bear.

With the assurance of Jesus as our Savior we can rest in the confidence that when we close our eyes on earth and pass through death, we will open our eyes in God’s presence. “One short sleep past we wake eternally,” John Donne said.

 

 David Roper

I love the life You’ve given to me, Lord, yet I wonder what it will be like to see You personally. Help me to trust You with the future. I look forward to that day when I meet You.

To see Jesus will be heaven’s greatest joy. 

Bible in a year: Amos 1–3; Revelation 6

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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