By Rob Flood

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.

God’s goodness is an identifiable truth fixed forever in the heavens.  It is best displayed on the cross of Jesus Christ.  There, a holy God poured his wrath upon the Innocent…and poured his love upon the guilty.  In that single act, God’s goodness is always pointed toward the redeemed.

This truth has comforted souls for thousands of years.  Yet, in my life, all I need is to stub my toe and I can question the goodness of God.  My roof leaks.  …is God still there?!  The car breaks down.  …does he love me still?  It’s kind of silly, really, but my circumstances so often cause my soul to reflexively question God’s goodness in loving me well.

So, when we come to verses like Hebrews 12:6, we are faced with what seems like a very uncomfortable paradox.  “The Lord disciplines the one he loves.”  That means that God is actively loving me when I’m not feeling particularly loved.  It means that my circumstances will lie to me about God’s goodness and God’s love.  It means I’ll have to trust in what God says rather than what I think.  It means that faith will have to guide me rather than sight.

In trials, God is loving us like a Father.  He is loving us for greater purposes than our comfort.  In trials, we take comfort not in our comfort but in the One who is causing our discomfort.  We are told that:

…for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:29)

When we feel the discomfort of trials…particularly extended discomfort…we can question if God knows what he’s up to.  Which is why I’m so glad for the next two verses:

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30)

God is up to something bigger than I’m aware of.  He’s up to a work that is aimed at my glorification…not my “today.” 

Keith and Kristyn Getty capture this difficult, faith-demanding, yet glorious truth in one of their hymns.  It is called, “When Trials Come.”  The video is below…followed by the lyrics.

May God relieve your burden in his perfect time.  And, until then, may he embolden your faith and hope in the Sovereign One who controls every pang of difficulty.  He’s up to something bigger than we see.  And he’s causing it to work together for our good.

When Trials Come

When trials come no longer fear
For in the pain our God draws near
To fire a faith worth more than gold
And there His faithfulness is told
And there His faithfulness is told

Within the night I know Your peace
The breath of God brings strength to me
And new each morning mercy flows
As treasures of the darkness grow
As treasures of the darkness grow

I turn to Wisdom not my own
For every battle You have known
My confidence will rest in You
Your love endures Your ways are good
Your love endures Your ways are good

When I am weary with the cost
I see the triumph of the cross
So in it’s shadow I shall run
Till You completes the work begun
Till You completes the work begun

One day all things will be made new
I’ll see the hope You called me to
And in your kingdom paved with gold
I’ll praise your faithfulness of old
I’ll praise your faithfulness of old

Keith & Kristyn Getty
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

By Jared Mellinger

One of the best books I am aware of on the subject of Heaven is a book by Randy Alcorn, simply called Heaven.  We recommended the book a few weeks ago, and I’ve heard back from several people who have said they have really been enjoying it (one of them was my wife Meghan, who is currently working her way through it).

One of the helpful features of the book is the clear distinction between the temporary lodging that currently exists for those who die in Christ (“the intermediate Heaven”), and our true eternal home that we will enter when Christ returns (“the New Earth”).  This distinction is essential to understanding our ultimate hope as believers and keeps our hope centered on Christ and his return.  The full application of the salvation Christ has won for us is not completed when we die, but when Jesus Christ comes again.

Here are a two choice quotes from Alcorn on our Intermediate Home.  I highly recommend his book, and encourage you to think often about our final destination.        

“The intermediate Heaven is not our final destination.  Though it will be a wonderful place, the intermediate Heaven is not the place we were made for – the place God promises to refashion for us to live in forever.  God’s children are destined for life as resurrected beings on a resurrected Earth.  …It bears repeating because it is so commonly misunderstood: When we die, believers in Christ will not go to the Heaven where we’ll live forever.  Instead, we’ll go to an intermediate Heaven.  In the intermediate Heaven, we’ll await the time of Christ’s return to the earth, our bodily resurrection, the final judgment, and the creation of the new heavens and the New Earth.  If we fail to grasp this truth, we will fail to understand the biblical doctrine of Heaven.”  (p 42)

“Books on Heaven often fail to distinguish between the intermediate and eternal states, using the one word – Heaven – as all-inclusive.  But this has dulled our thinking and keeps us from understanding important biblical distinctions.  In this book, when referring to the place believers go after death, I use terms such as the present Heaven or the intermediate Heaven.  I’ll refer to the eternal state as the eternal Heaven or the New Earth.  I hope you can see why this is such an important distinction.  The present heaven is a temporary lodging, a waiting place until the return of Christ and our bodily resurrection.  The eternal Heaven, the New Earth, is our true home, the place where we will live forever with our Lord and with each other.  The great redemptive promises of God will find their ultimate fulfillment on the New Earth, not the intermediate Heaven.”  (p 44)