Generic comfort is great for generic troubles. But who experiences generic trouble? We experience trouble in the specifics—the anxiety of a specific work environment, the pain of a specific diagnosis, the discouragement that comes from specific comments made by specific people.
When we’re in trouble, we look for specific solutions to our specific troubles. We find ourselves typing detailed descriptions into a search engine, asking friends if they know anyone who has faced these particular difficulties, or searching Scripture for precise words that come closest to capturing what troubles us.
Oftentimes, heaven is the last concept we think of when looking for comfort. Heaven feels so generic. We associate it with clouds, gold, and angel wings, not the gritty reality of workplace dynamics, medical diagnoses, or interpersonal strife. Heaven doesn’t seem pertinent to this world’s troubles.
But that’s not how heaven comes at us in Scripture. Scripture doesn’t describe heaven generically, but specifically, with details meant to grip our hearts in times of trouble. The Holy Spirit applies his comfort by assuring us that the guaranteed values of heaven are superior to the passing values we feel the loss of in this life. In this way, times of trouble become times of
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
