Anchored: Heaven

Over the next nine weeks on the blog, we will be following along with our fall Hope Groups as they go through Hope Mommies’ newly published Bible Study — Anchored.  For those of you who did not register for a group this year, this will be an opportunity to walk through the topics studied in our Hope Groups. For those of you who are currently participating in a Hope Group, our desire is for these posts to reinforce the lessons you are learning with your group.   Wherever you are in your journey through loss and grief, I pray that this series will encourage your heavy hearts, remind you of truth, and point you to the unrelenting, far-reaching Hope of Christ as we anchor ourselves in Him and His Word.  

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Week 4- Heaven

As your precious baby took their last breath on earth, their very next was in Heaven.  The final beat of their heart on earth was immediately followed by renewed life at home with the Lord. This life is not all there is, and it is certainly not the best there is.  Heaven is real, and it is forever.  And we are called to set our hearts and minds on the beautiful reality of God’s eternal home. 

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.”
-Colossians 3:1

To set our sights on heaven, we much choose to cherish what is cherished in heaven and pursue the things that will last for eternity.  When you are focusing your heart on God’s Kingdom priorities, your perspective will no longer be bound by earthly concerns and values. 

Heaven can only be understood by faith, and cannot be fully grasped by our finite minds or confined by earthly definitions and descriptions.  But God has allowed us glimpses of His eternal home throughout the Bible.  Take a moment to read through this vision that John was given of Heaven and allow its beauty to sink into your heart.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.  And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment…

…And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal…

…The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.  And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.  And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.  By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”
-Revelation 21:1-6, 10-11, 18-27  22:1-5

This, dear one, is what we have to look forward to.  This is the hope we have been given through the death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Everything will be new and perfect.  Nothing will be damaged or spoiled or blemished by the darkness of sin.  The splendor of heaven is truly beyond the scope of our comprehension.  And anything less magnificent and unfathomable wouldn’t be heaven, would it?  Don’t lose site of the glorious riches to come!

Our beloved children have avoided the brokenness of this world and have received everything that is lovely, joyful, and perfect.  They are enjoying the pleasure and goodness of God’s eternal presence!

…And yet, sometimes heaven seems so far away, doesn’t it?

Last summer, just a few weeks after our first miscarriage, my husband and I took the high school students from our church to a week of summer camp. During the first chapel session of the week, as I stood there singing in the midst of 200 high school students something about the lyrics grabbed hold of me:

Holy, holy is the Lord God almighty
Worthy, worthy is Your Name
All of Heaven joins the universe ever crying
Worthy, worthy is Your name
(Worthy, Worthy, by, Vertical Church Band)

That truth is woven all throughout Scripture:

“Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it;
Shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing,
O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it!
For the LORD has redeemed…”
-Psalm 44:23worshipping

“Let heaven and earth praise him…”
-Psalm 69:34

Did you catch that?  Heaven and Earth.  All of Heaven and earth join together to sing about the worthiness of our glorious Savior!  I cannot express just how deeply that penetrated into my heart.

Some of the most intimate and precious moments as a mother have come while I am snuggled up with my children as we raise our voices together to sing praise to our Almighty God.  Oh! How I love worshiping the Lord as a family. So to be reminded that when we are approaching the throne of God in worship my sweet babies who have gone Home ahead of me are there — lifting their voices in praise for all eternity — I am blown away by such a gift.  A gift made possible through Christ’s death and resurrection.  What joy there is in knowing that I am still able to experience this intimacy with my children; that together we can be ever crying, “Worthy, Worthy is His name!”

While the separation from our little ones while we are on earth is excruciating, we can have confidence that through faith in Jesus Christ, our best days with them are still ahead.  And while we are on earth we are closest to our children when we are doing what they are doing and love whom they are loving — when we fall before the throne of God in worship. 

We don’t have to wait until Heaven to join in the chorus of praise to the One who is Worthy of all our adoration.  We can join right here and how.  The death of God’s own beloved Son paved the way for you and your little one to enjoy fullness of joy in the presence of God for eternity.  So let’s praise Him together, because He have given us the hope of Heaven.

For more posts in this series, click on the links below:
Anchored: Marked By Loss
Anchored: What About God?
Anchored: Wrestling with Fear

Ashlee is the Editorial Manager for Hope Mommies. She and her husband, Jesse have three children on earth, two in Heaven, and a little one on the way.
You can get to know her more by reading her blog, https://beyondundone.wordpress.com/