“What are you waiting for? What is your hopeful expectation? Whatever expectation is the priority of your heart will determine the actions of your days. You should be waiting for Jesus! He should be the hopeful expectation of your life. If pleasing Jesus were the reason you existed, your only priority would be to prepare for His return. Nothing would distract you from that event. Nothing would be more important to you.
"Those who walked on earth with Him thought that Jesus would return for them personally. It was the hope that drove them to do wondrous achievements to further My kingdom. It was the motivation behind their pursuit of Me, so that they could live His life in front of those around them. I have placed that hope in each generation for very specific reasons. The hope of His return will keep you in constant preparation. It will cause you to strive to be like Him. It will motivate you to become as a waiting bride. Press in, My faithful ones. The time is soon.”
1 Cor. 1:2-9 NIV
2) To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:
3) Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4) I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.
5) For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge—
6) because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.
7) Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
8) He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9) God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
Rev. 22:17-21 NIV
17) The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
18) I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.
19) And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
20) He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21) The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”
One of the golden threads that weaves its way through every generation of believers is the hopeful expectation of the return of Jesus Christ and their subsequent removal from this earth and its cares. It is the driving force behind every thought, prayer, and move of the ones following hard after the things of God. Unfortunately, to the carnal believer, waiting and preparing for the return of Jesus is foolishness. It is the stumbling block that allows them to remain in their shallow representation of His life to the world, because they do not believe His return is near.
As you study the wonder of the Word of God, and the eternal genius behind concealing the specific time and place of His return, there is nothing to do but fall prostrate in thankfulness and praise to God. What better stimulus! There is no more powerful driving force to keep us heading in the proper, safe direction.
As wondrous as all that is, you and I have the privilege of looking back through the corridors of time and applying all of the keys to His coming that are found in the Word of God. If we study the Word with diligence, there is no question that the event of His return is very near. What other generations could only speculate, we see fulfilled with precise, surgical implementation, almost every day. What was the hope of other generations, I am convinced will be the fulfillment in ours.
Our preparation for the return of our Lord for us may seem foolish to the skeptics. The enemy’s attempts to convince us that the Lord’s return is far off could be used as a tool to discourage believers from becoming all that would please our Lord when He comes for those who are like Him in every way. That preparation, however, is the most important feature of our lives, simply because we know what our spirit, in line with the Holy Spirit, is saying. I believe that I am being told to look to the skies in hopeful expectation for my Master each and every day.
Maybe today, Lord,
Jim Corbett
