09 Desember 2025
Bacaan Hari ini:
1 Korintus 2:9 "Tetapi seperti ada tertulis: "Apa yang tidak pernah dilihat oleh mata, dan tidak pernah didengar oleh telinga, dan yang tidak pernah timbul di dalam hati manusia: semua yang disediakan Allah untuk mereka yang mengasihi Dia."
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Anda bisa tetap bersyukur di tengah pencobaan—bukan karena pencobaan itu baik, tetapi karena Allah itu baik dan Ia telah menjanjikan surga bagi semua yang percaya kepada Anak-Nya, Yesus.
Seperti apa surga itu?
Alkitab berkata: "Apa yang tidak pernah dilihat oleh mata, didengar oleh telinga, dan bahkan dipikirkan oleh manusia—semua disediakan Allah bagi mereka yang mengasihi-Nya." (1 Korintus 2:9)
Kita bahkan tidak bisa membayangkan betapa luar biasanya surga itu.
Sayangnya, banyak orang memiliki gambaran tentang surga yang membosankan karena pengaruh film atau TV. Tapi pikirkan ini:
Siapa yang menciptakan semua warna paling indah di bumi? Allah.
Pantai yang menakjubkan, gunung bersalju, hutan redwood, bunga-bunga penuh warna, hewan-hewan luar biasa… semua diciptakan oleh Allah di dunia yang sudah rusak oleh dosa, tetapi tetap begitu memukau! Sekarang bayangkan tempat tanpa dosa, tanpa penderitaan, tanpa kesedihan, tanpa kehancuran. Kita tidak bisa membayangkan keindahan yang sedang Allah persiapkan bagi kita.
Pengharapan di Lembah Kelam
Ketika putra mereka, Matthew, meninggal dunia, Rick dan Kay Warren pernah ditanya tentang surga dan pengharapan.
Rick menjawab: Mereka menerima lebih dari 30.000 surat dukacita.
Surat yang paling berarti datang dari orang-orang yang dipimpin Matthew kepada Kristus—orang-orang yang berkata bahwa mereka akan berada di surga karena Matthew telah menunjukkan Yesus kepada mereka.
"Dalam taman anugerah Allah, bahkan pohon yang patah pun tetap bisa berbuah," tulis Rick dalam jurnalnya.
Namun, ia juga berkata:
"Apakah saya senang itu memberkati banyak orang? Ya.
Tapi apakah saya masih ingin anak saya kembali? Saya sangat ingin."
Ia kemudian mengutip Daud dalam 2 Samuel 12:
"Dapatkah aku mengembalikannya lagi? Aku yang akan pergi kepadanya, tetapi ia tidak akan kembali kepadaku."
Inilah pengharapan surga—pengharapan yang menopang mereka di hari-hari paling gelap. Ada bayangan karena ada terang. Jika Anda sedang berjalan di lembah hari ini, teruslah melangkah. Pandanglah Terang. Surga sudah sangat dekat.
Renungkan
- Jika Anda sedang melewati lembah hari ini, apa yang Anda tahu tetap benar tentang Allah dan janji-Nya?
- Ketika Anda melihat sesuatu yang indah di alam atau di orang lain, ingatlah bahwa keindahan surga jauh melampaui itu. Bagaimana itu mengubah perspektif Anda?
- Siapa yang dapat Anda bagikan pengharapan tentang surga hari ini?
Bacaan Alkitab Setahun :
Zefanya 1; I Yohanes 4-5
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Cara melewati lembah bayang-bayang maut adalah membelakangi bayangan dan memandang kepada Terang.
(Diterjemahkan dari Daily Devotional by Rick Warren)
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In the Dark Valley, You Have the Hope of Heaven - Daily Hope with Rick Warren - December 09, 2025
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9 (GW)
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You can be thankful in your trials—not because they are good but because God is good, and he has promised heaven for all those who believe in his Son, Jesus.
What is heaven going to be like? The Bible says, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9 GW).
The Bible says we can't even begin to imagine how wonderful heaven will be. And yet most people have such a poor idea of heaven that it's no surprise they're not exactly looking forward to it.
Movies and TV have often portrayed heaven as completely colorless. But who do you think created the vibrant colors all around us? God did! And you're not going to sit in a robe with angel's wings playing a harp on a cloud. If you ask me, that would be hell!
There are a lot of amazing and beautiful things on this planet, and God created all of them—beach landscapes, snow-capped mountains, redwood forests, and all the beauty and variety of flowers and animals. The earth is broken, yet it's still such a jaw-droppingly beautiful place!
Now think about a place with no sin, no suffering, no sorrow, and no destruction—and think about what it will be like. We can't even begin to imagine what God has been preparing for us.
After our son Matthew died, Kay and I were asked in an interview about heaven and hope. Here's what I said:
We probably received over thirty thousand letters of condolences. The letters that meant the most to me were the people that Matthew had led to faith in Christ—those who said they were going to be in heaven because of him. The ones who said, "I know the Lord. I have a relationship with Jesus because of your son."
And I remember writing in my journal that in God's garden of grace, even a broken tree bears fruit. And that was true in his life.
You say, "Well are you happy that it's making a difference?" Of course I am. I still want my son back. I still want my son back. But as David, who lost a son, said in 2 Samuel 12, "He will not come back to me, but I will go to him."
That is the hope of heaven that we have—that has strengthened us even through the darkest days. Wherever there's a shadow, there's a light. The key to walking through the valley of the shadow of death is to turn your back on the shadow, which is scary, and look at the Light. And that's how you get through it.
If you're walking through the valley today, keep going, and look to the Light. Heaven is just around the corner.
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