A Better Resurrection - Daily Treasure - June 11

A Better Resurrection

Chuck and Sharon W. Betters

TODAY’S TREASURE

We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16–18).

Dear Friends,

Remember the story I shared in last week’s Sunday devotional? Because of a devastating fire that had swept through the area, our first visit to Yellowstone National Park was tarnished by the image of miles of great lodge-pole pine trees reduced to giant, charred toothpicks. Elsewhere in the park, fires still raged unchecked because the ecologists had determined that this destruction would actually help to renew the forest. Unless fire periodically destroys the tall trees, the smaller saplings do not get the necessary sunshine and so die out. It also takes fire to break open the hard shells that encase these pine seeds. Without fire, the old trees would simply die off without leaving any young plants to grow up and take their place in the forest.

On our second visit to the park, which occurred about five years later, the “before and after” effect was striking. The once charred and blackened forest now teeming with new life. Miniature lush green pines pushed up through the underbrush, pushing aside the old logs and burnt branches. The fields were filled with wildflowers, their brilliant colors drawing a vast array of birds, butterflies, and bees. Herds of bison and elk roamed the green and flower-filled meadows, now abundant with the food these animals needed. The fire had truly done its work; it had renewed the land. (Treasures of Faith, page 82)

Likewise, we, as God’s children, can know with total confidence that the scorch marks in our lives will lead to new life. Admittedly, it is sometimes hard to believe with confidence in such resurrection. Some days, though, this truth is what gets me through the broken places, especially when I see no way God can redeem the pain. I draw great comfort from the message of Hebrews 11. A striking theme running throughout Hebrews 11 is the confidence of God’s people that they were on their way to a better place. Their stories encourage us to “fix our eyes on what is unseen.” Like Abraham, we are on a journey, often not knowing where we are going, not knowing what God has in store for us. We know our stories will be written until we step from this earth into Heaven. We are on our way Home. Whether the scorch marks flow from beautiful moments or the dark broken places, we can be confident each one is another chapter in our own resurrection story, where God is moving us from death to life. Such confidence in God’s sovereign love and our final destination equips and enables us to walk by faith and obedience, even when we don’t know where God is leading us:

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.  By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.  By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.  Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.  These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had the opportunity to return.  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city (Hebrews 11:8-16).

This week, let’s consider what it means to remember that what may look like total devastation similar to the fire-blackened tree stumps and ground of Yellowstone Park, the deadly fires in our own lives are actually a means to life, to resurrection. As the Lord calls you to die to self a thousand little ways or in a big way, remember Paul’s exhortations and glorious reminders of our destination:

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13).

We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16–18).

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself (Philippians 3:20-21).

We are on our way Home.

Treasured by Him,

Chuck and Sharon W. Betters

I hope these devotionals will whet your appetite and encourage you to dig deep into Hebrews 11 on your own.   They are adapted with permission from P&R Publishing. P&R is offering Treasures of Faith for $3.00 each! And the Leader’s Guide for $2.00. 

Supplies are limited.

More free resources for help hope & healing:

In His Grip is the preaching and teaching ministry of Dr. Chuck F. Betters from almost fifty years in church ministry. This month’s featured series is: Do You Know Your Spiritual Birthline? with Dr. Chuck Betters

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sharon W. Betters is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, pastor’s wife, and cofounder of MARKINC Ministries, where she is the Director of Resource Development. Sharon is the author of several books, including Treasures of Encouragement, Treasures in Darkness, and co-author with Susan Hunt of Aging with Grace. She is the co-host of the Help & Hope podcast and writes Daily Treasure, an online devotional.

For more from Daily Treasure please visit MARKINC.ORG.