Articles
This World Is Not My Home
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You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
(Psa. 73:24-25)
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Albert Brumley is best remembered as the composer of the gospel hymn, "I'll Fly Away," first published in 1931. But for my money his later composition, "This World Is Not My Home," is more memorable. The first stanza is a beautiful echo of the 73rd Psalm:
This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through.
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue;
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door,
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.
Read the entire Psalm, and the sentiment expressed in this hymn becomes more meaningful.
Asaph was troubled by the unfairness of life. While he struggled to live a good life--and paid a dear price for his trouble (v. 13-14)--the wicked around him prospered in their iniquities (v. 3-12). It's hard to trust God when it seems that He winks at the sin and injustice that pervades this world.
But Asaph's downcast outlook took a turn for the positive when he opened his eyes to a more expansive view of what's going on. He realized that God had a far greater plan in motion, a plan that included providing a home in glory for him when this life was over. All the pain, all the frustration, all the trauma that Asaph had to endure in the present would be swept away, and he would find rest at last in a beautiful abode far away from the ruthlessness of this world.
In the meantime, of course, like Asaph, we're stuck here, having to grind out our existence day by dreary day, wondering why God doesn't do something about the brokenness. Like Asaph, we must remind ourselves that this is temporary. This old earth is only a bumpy detour to our final destination, and when God receives us to glory in heaven, then we will realize . . . it was all worth it.
"This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through." If that line does not capture your current frame of mind, there is a high likelihood that you are struggling with your own doubts about God and the unfairness of life. Lift up your eyes from this barren wasteland and see with the eye of faith the joy that lies beyond.
What else do you need?
--David
