Let it be today
We’ve introduced a new song in worship recently called “Hymn of Heaven” by Phil Wickham. From the very start of the song, I was hooked. The way Wickham laid out the melody with the words declaring the eventual reality of heaven reflects the constant hope we have, knowing this world is not all there is. As Believers, we know this world cannot satisfy us, and there will be a day with no more sickness, pain, fear, or crying. Heaven is this place our minds cannot fully comprehend because it is like nothing we have ever seen or experienced. After this last year and a half, knowing this is just our temporary home gives us hope.
While 90% of the song speaks to that future of living alongside the Son of God for all eternity, the last 10% of the song gives me the most hope. The biggest chunk of the song talks about heaven, but the last chorus says we don't have to wait for heaven and that we can experience heaven here on earth.
So let it be today we shout the hymn of Heaven
With angels and the saints, we raise a mighty roar
Glory to our God who gave us life beyond the grave
Holy, holy is the Lord
While we know heaven is the end game, we aren’t there yet, and there is still so much life to live. If we spent six days of every week thinking and hoping for the future and only one day a week in the present, we’d be missing the amazing blessings God has for us the other 313 days a year. I don't know about you, but I don't want to live like that. I don't feel that is even living. I want to live my best life today, knowing tomorrow will surely come, but I don't want to miss what God is doing in, through, and around me today.
Jesus showed us what it means to live fully. He seized his moments on earth. He knew time was short for him, and he didn’t waste a second. Jesus spent time teaching, getting to know people others didn’t consider worthy of their time, and he was intentional with his words and actions. Jesus knew someday he would be reunited with God, but he also knew the pain that awaited him when he made the ultimate sacrifice so we could be free. Even in teaching us how to pray, he still reminds us to live in the present like he did.
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Jesus taught us we don't have to wait for this eventual heaven, but we could experience heaven here on earth if we changed our focus to God's will and not our own.
We sing another song called "10,000 Reason" from time to time, reflecting the endless blessings in this life we must be thankful for. Daily we have endless reasons to be thankful. I could fill up an entire 24 hours just simply saying “thank you” to God every time I thought of one of those many blessings.
In his usual way, Jesus shares more powerful words in Matthew 6:34 when he says, "do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." I'm not trying to change anything in scripture, but what if we thought about those words in another way. What if we thought of this as do not focus on tomorrow and miss out on today, for tomorrow will have its own blessings. Each day has even more blessings on its own.
Yes, someday we will all gather around the throne of God with the angels in heaven singing, “Holy! Holy! Holy! Is the Lord, God almighty! Who was and is and is to come!” But we do not have to wait! We can live in this moment and in this life where He has us. We can praise God on earth just as the angels are doing without ceasing in heaven. We can pray continuously while also being a light in our world. We can embrace the hope of heaven while also sharing that hope with the world each day.
I don't want to get to heaven and have God ask me, "What were you waiting for?" I want Him to say to me today, "Did you see that? Isn't that amazing!"
My prayer for everyone is that we don't miss out on what God has for us in this life because we are looking so far ahead that we can't see His goodness at this moment. Be present. Be intentional. Be a blessing.
Let it be today, on earth as it is in heaven.
Go be the church,
April Bergez
Worship Leader
“Hymn of Heaven” by Phil Wickham