"God, why is this happening to me?"  Have you ever heard that phrase in one form or another?  As a pastor, I hear it a lot.  We wonder why we are going through what we are going through as a Christian.  Then those who are not Christians say, "If God loves us, why doesn’t God step up and do something?".  That is a pretty valid question, and often times, the Christian does not have a good answer.  Then the Chrisitan can become depressed, because they wonder where God is.

If you will indulge me, I would like to go on a journey with you.  First, we have to remember that our life is so very short as compared to eternity.  When we have a relationship with Jesus, what does Jesus promise us?  We are promised that we have a future in Heaven and by His stripes we are healed.  Most say that they like that last part, and that they wish that they saw it more often.

Remember, forever is a long, long, long time. So, once you come to know Jesus, you are promised a life in Heaven, where there is no pain, no sickness, no sin, no death, and where God grants your heart's desire.  It is a place where you have no worries, ever.  There are not a lot of verses on Heaven in the Bible, because well, if we could explain Heaven, then when we get there, we would be sorely disappointed.  God is making a place for us that is so wonderful that it will blow our imaginations away, and then some.

Sidenote:  If Jesus healed every disease on the planet, we would never make it to Heaven. This body has to die so that we can have a new and amazing life.

The Bible says that we are the Bride of Christ. The Bible is all about a marriage contract.  When two people get married, they give themselves completely over to the other person, trusting that the other person will do what is best for them. 

So, we give our lives to Jesus to do as He sees fit with us.  Sometimes that means that we will be put in difficult situations.  Now, you may say that isn't love.  However, what is the only thing that you can take with you from this planet?  It's another soul, a person.  That’s it.  What does God base His rewards in Heaven on?  It's how many people you shared Jesus with, not how many get saved, because you can’t make anyone get saved.  You can only share the Gospel.

Everyone goes through struggles, and how we handle those struggles can show people our love for Jesus.  For example, I had a person in my office recently that was wondering why God had not healed them.  I talked to the person about the above, and that if you are a Christian, you have a perfect and amazing future ahead.  You will be healed in Heaven, and it will last forever.  Then I told her that maybe she is going through this to reach someone, like the doctors and nurses, for Jesus.  I asked the person if when they go to see the doctors and nurses, if they ask them if they know Jesus.  The person was taken back, and thought about it and said, "no".  I told her that maybe God has her on a mission to reach them for Jesus.  Once that mission is done, maybe then God will take away the affliction, because the job is done.

The point is, we are eternal beings. We will live eternally in either Heaven or hell. Both of those last so much longer than this life.  The Good News is, as Christians, we know, or should I say that, we should know, that what happens on this earth is really insignificant compared to the glory and riches that we will have in Heaven.  What if we lived our lives with that eternal perspective?

Two things would happen.  The things of life would not bother us anymore.  Wouldn’t that be great!  Second, God is giving you chances to share Jesus, which helps you add to your riches in Heaven one day, when Jesus will tell you that you have done well as a servant, GREAT is your reward.  So…