While We Are Still Here

Bettye M. Walker, MHSC | Monday, January 4, 2021

I vividly remember the exact moment when a young believer asked my opinion about going to heaven to escape all the turmoil and trouble taking place in this world:

"Every day, I am praying that the Lord will take me home,” he said.

“Don't you wish you were in heaven right now?"

"Actually, no. I don't," I responded.

"Really? Why not?"

"Because as long as the Lord has need of me—as long as there is some work to be done on His behalf here on earth—I want to be ready and available to be used as He sees fit,” I said emphatically.

“It is far more important for me to be used in the Lord’s service than to be at rest with Him in Heaven," I concluded.

That conversation happened 12 or more years ago. Little has changed when it comes to my thoughts on the subject. While Heaven is my destiny and something I keep in constant view, it is not the sole reason I am here.

I exist (I am alive and still here) because I am one of many laborers in God’s vineyard. The work He has assigned to me, which I am called and chosen for, is far too important and expedient than to whittle away my time selfishly thinking about entering into God's eternal rest.

So long as there is some work to be done—some soul that belongs to God—I cannot in good conscious be satisfied with selfishly forgetting about who I am, who called me, why I exist, why I am still here, or all the things God has placed in my hands.

My constant prayer is that the Lord will preserve my life long enough, and not call me home, until every assignment, every purpose, every prophetic word, and charge laid to my cause has been fulfilled to His satisfaction.

While we are still here, I hope this becomes our collective prayer.