Doreen Button

To understand the message of Matthew 7:21-23, again it’s critical to look at the whole passage and consider who Jesus is talking to and about.

Jairus’s daughter appeared to be dead because she was dead. Yet Jesus—fully God—sees beyond this finite moment in time in which we are sequestered. He alone is capable of “waking” her, as He did Lazarus and others.

It’s always imperative to read Scriptures in context. If you pull a verse out from among its peers, it can appear to say things God never intended.

Thank you for your question. Though I don’t know any part of your story behind the question, I sense a deep longing in you for the answer to be, “Yes, of course there is hope!”

This may sound odd, but I believe—because of what I’ve read in Job and other passages—God is more interested in our seeking Him and wanting to know Him well than He is about us getting secondary and tertiary concepts—i.e., timelines which Jesus didn’t even claim to know (Matthew 24:36)—just right.

I understand how, with our current mindset, it is difficult to imagine needing encouragement in Heaven. So let’s take a look at the ultimate servant leader, Jesus.

This is one of those topics that we have to hold loosely in both hands because it involves paradox. In God’s mind, two things can be true at once even though to us they appear to be at odds. Scripture puts several such concepts before us.

You want to be good, and you realize that you’re not. That kind of honesty is something Jesus loved. Read His parable in Luke 18:10-14 and you’ll see what I mean. 

Psalm 37:4 isn’t a promise; it’s a principle. If we get upset because “the desires of our heart” haven’t been met, that’s a big clue that our delight is in the smooth running of our own personal kingdom, and not in God Himself.