Choose the Kingdom

Another way to begin to seize hope with a good, firm grip is to ask yourself, What have I done with my kingdom heart? Where am I currently taking it? You have a heart for joy — where is your hope for joy set right now? You have a heart for redemption — where are you taking your heart for redemption these days? You ache for restoration, yours and those you love — where is your hope for restoration these days?

What I am suggesting is that we need to begin to make conscious, deliberate decisions to give our hearts to the return of Jesus and the renewal of all things. Every time you find yourself getting anxious about an uncertain hope, stop and pray, Jesus, I give my hope to your true and certain return, and the renewal of all things. Every time disappointment strikes again, you can pray, Jesus, I give my heart to your kingdom; I am made for your kingdom and nothing else will do. When you wake in the morning and all your hopes and fears rush at you; when you come home at night beat up from another long day and all you want to do is medicate; when you hear of someone else’s great joy and something envious rises in you — make the conscious decision to give your heart to the return of Christ and the restoration of all things.

And especially when you experience loss. Oh, friends — can we remember that life is a long series of good-byes? You have suffered so many losses already; we hate to admit it, but many more are yet to come. But now we can say to ourselves, Nothing is truly lost. This is going to come back to me; this will be in one of my treasure chests Jesus will restore to me.

Friends, it is as simple as this: if you do not give your heart over to the renewal of all things, you will take your kingdom heart to something in this world. You will do compulsive things, like collecting way too many shoes. You will be tempted into far darker things. It is inevitable.

But if you will begin to choose the kingdom — “seek ye first” (Matthew 6:33 KJV)—if you consciously and deliberately give your heart to the renewal of all things, you will notice the effects immediately. So much pressure will be lifted off your current hopes; when things don’t go well, you’ll find yourself less angry, less dejected. As your heart and soul become anchored in the Renewal, you’ll find yourself freer to risk, especially love. You can love people, because God will do everything in his power to make sure you will not lose them; the good-byes of his children are only momentary. You can love beautiful places and cultures and things like wilderness because even though it looks like they may be vanishing, they will be restored.

For nothing is lost. He renews all things.

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