When you don't want to go to heaven

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:2-4 (NIV)

A few months ago, I found myself following my husband through the African bush. We were trying to get as close we could to the Big 5 animals on foot. 

We had been walking for three hours already and our guides seemed unsure how to take us back to our vehicle. They stopped, shielded their eyes from the sun, and told us, “The path is going to get a little rough. We are going to make our own way and the bush is thick here.”

Wearily, I put one foot in front of the other. At that moment, all I wanted was to put my feet up, read a book, and stop walking. Or I would even have gone for just stopping walking.

Instead, I was pinching thorn branches between my fingers as I contorted my body through a hole trying not to tear my clothes. 

I thought about how good it be to reach camp. As I walked I started singing C.S. Lewis, 

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

As I sung the words, heaven began to make sense to me. 

I struggle to understand heaven. I struggle to comprehend another world.  

But as I trekked through bush, stumbling over rhino dung and sipping water, it made sense to me that heaven could be a destination to look forward to, a haven like the camp I longed to reach. 

I thought about how if I knew of such a great place that I would want to make sure all my friends and family went there with me. It made sense to me that Jesus would be excited to invite us to join him in his home. 

For the first time in a long time, I wanted to go to heaven. 

I wanted to know peace. 

I wanted to know that at the end of a long tiresome journey there would be an oasis. 

I felt like I could keep going through all the tough stuff if there was heaven at the end. 

I was thinking about heaven when I stooped under two branches and righted myself. The car stood in front of me. And I looked forward to going home. 

Ponder: What are your feelings about heaven? Are they positive, negative or undecided?

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for inviting me to come and stay in your home. 

{Share this post}

You can share this devotional on twitter by clicking here. I’d also love for you to connect with me on my Facebook and twitter pages or if you're viewing this via email you can leave a comment by clicking here.

Get a copy of my e-book Life, Life and More Life for free. Just subscribe to receive my devotionals every Monday and Friday. In the book I share some of thoughts on how to make every moment count, gleaned from my experiences of loving my husband through 18 sessions of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. You can subscribe here

- This was orginally published on my site in December 2014. To read more devotionals like this go to ilovedevotionals.com