If we truly love God, there won’t be a day when we aren’t fired by the expectation of looking upon His face in heaven. That’s what the gospel is about. Death is not the end — it is the beginning of what Christ died to make possible for us.
Abundance presents a challenge for us. When we have not only what we need but more than we need, it is not easier to enjoy life, as most people think, but much harder. The poor man has the advantage of being hungry enough to enjoy every little thing.
Foolishly, we assume that getting the wealth we desire will provide the freedom to enjoy life and open the door to happiness. But that won’t be the result if God doesn’t grant the enjoyment of the things He permits us to acquire.
Whenever there is something we can do and we know that we can do it, we are tempted to believe our strength is our own: this is our ability, we have learned how to do this thing, and so forth. We begin to feel independent and self-sufficient.
We shouldn’t expect life as a Christian — at least in this world, marred as it is by the intrusion of sin — to be anything other than difficult. There will be some pleasant days now and then, but we should guard against unrealistic expectations.
We should make plans, but we should keep in mind that they may not materialize. The world would be a poorer place if all our plans did materialize, for God’s plans are much better than ours and we can be glad that His take precedence.
With earthly goals, we must be tentative. We may want to do certain things tomorrow, and even plan to do them. But we must not “boast” about them. In other words, we must not be too sure they will come to pass, since the Lord may have other plans.
God will inevitably appear to disappoint the man who is attempting to use Him as a convenience, a prop, or a comfort for his own plans, but He has never been known to disappoint the man who is sincerely wanting to cooperate with His own purposes.
There is nothing wrong with dreaming, nor is there anything wrong with planning and preparing. But we should not hold on to our expectations with too tight a grip — God may have other plans, plans which seem messy and inconvenient compared to ours.
Progress never comes except at a price, and it must occasionally be true that we have to bear a part of the price personally. At such times, we should be glad the event represents a gain for God’s cause and His kingdom, in the larger perspective.