In the spring I wrote about FOMO. I was missing out on my daughter’s art show and my cousin, who I travel with, went to Greece, without me! I knew I was missing out especially when she posted that she was swimming in the Libyan sea! Because I love these people and have so much fun with them I fear that I am missing out! FOMO, the fear of missing out! Sometimes it is nice to know that you are not the only one with these symptoms and if there is a name for it you are validated. When my pastor mentioned FOMO for his upcoming sermon I started thinking about my latest FOMO. The Franklin Graham crusade is on the same Saturday that Mike and I are going with friends to a Steelers game and we had already purchased our airline tickets. Even so, I went to the training and was approved to be a prayer counselor for the crusade. God showed me a way I can go to Fayetteville to be a prayer counselor before my trip. What an honor to serve with our military!
For me, FOMO is the fear of missing out on a day on the beach, a day on the island, a get together with family, getting together with close friends, and the things that are most important to me. Knowing I love to travel, Sarah asked me if I knew I only had six months to live where would I go? I quickly answered, "I would stay home so I could be with all my family and friends." That is most important to me and I believe I would be very bold in my witnessing! Not going to Heaven should be our biggest fear of missing out! That is not a day at the beach, an evening of fun, a vacation, a two week trip, a six month study abroad....that is for all eternity!
1 John 5: 13, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." We cannot imagine how wonderful Heaven will be. Romans 8: 18, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Eternity is unending time which is something we cannot even fathom! Living eternity in joy!
Ecclesiastes 3: 11, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end." God already placed eternity in our hearts. Nothing else can satisfy our deepest longings except Him! Matthew 7: 13-14, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." When we decide to follow Jesus it means we abandon our own agenda for His. The gate is not wide enough for all our stuff!
Ephesians 2: 8-10, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." God rescued us from the sin of death and shows us a new way of life in Jesus. This new life is what we were made for and what God has modeled for us. This is the way we are to walk as we follow Jesus. Paul is not only telling us that we have been saved but what we have been saved for. If we are God's handiwork, then God knows what is best for us.
When we share our testimonies with others, sharing how God saved us from sin and has made us a new creation, how he has filled us with joy and peace by the Holy Spirit, we are reminded of God’s awesome work in our lives. This deepens our love and understanding of Christ. Philemon 1: 6, "I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ."
While we cannot open someone’s heart to the truth, God can. We must be prepared to share the Good News with others. Do you have FOMO for you or for someone else? In Matthew 9: 37, Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” Are you going to be a laborer, someone willing to take a step of faith and love to share the message of the gospel?
If you have FOMO on eternity then you can ask God to forgive you of your sins, turn from then and believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins. Ask Him into your heart. You can use your own words but here is a prayer of salvation. "Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen." John 3: 16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Do not have FOMO on eternity - for you or anyone else!
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