WORSHIP REFLECTIONS are weekly devotionals based on worship songs/hymns. Our hope is that this content encourages your love and adoration of Christ Jesus as you grow in closer communion with Him through personal worship.
Steven Brooks, Director of Worship Quest Ministries, presents this worship song devotional based on the CityAlight song "On That Day".
C.S. Lewis wrote, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” Augustine wrote, “O God, you made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”
These two quotes capture the passionate heartbeat of the Christian life: a longing for another world and a longing for God. We long for heaven, but it’s more than just that. I once hear someone say that heaven is a praiseworthy place, but only because it is inhabited by a praiseworthy person. The Christian life consists of not only longing for another world, but also, and primarily, a longing for God.
The CityaLight song “On That Day” helps us declare this longing for heaven and longing for God.
Verse 1 begins with a creedal declaration:
I believe in Christ, risen from the dead
He now reigns victorious, His kingdom knows no end
These are solid biblical truths that help us set our feet on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ.
Through His resurrection, death has lost its hold
I know on that final day I’ll rise as Jesus rose
We have a promise that for those who place their trust and faith in God, he will give eternal life. In his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus speaks what ends up being maybe the most famous words found in the Bible:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Those that believe in Jesus have the full assurance that they will see Jesus face to face and spend the rest of eternity with him in heaven.
The chorus reiterates this truth:
On that day we will see you shining brighter than the sun
On that day we will know you as we lift our voice as one
Till that day we will praise you for your never ending grace
And we will keep on singing on that glorious day
Verse 2 offers a beautiful perspective as we reflect on this life and the life to come.
What a blessed hope, though now tired and worn
We will spend eternity around our Savior’s throne
Though we grieve our losses, we grieve not in vain
For we know our crown of glory waits beyond the grave
Though this life here on earth is filled with difficulty, pain, and suffering, we have the incredible promise of a future where God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death will not exist. There will be no mourning, no crying, no pain anymore, for all those things will have passed away.
And, as Revelation 21 says, he who is seated on the throne says, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
And we will join together and sing:
Hallelujah what a day it will be
For at home with you my joy is complete
As I run into your arms open wide I will see
My father who is waiting for me
To have this hope for heaven does not mean we have an escapist mentality. We realize that God has placed us here on this earth for a purpose. We must be diligent in fulfilling the purposes God has called us to while we wait for that time when we will be with Jesus, face to face. But oh to grab ahold of the promise that he will return to take us home. That he is preparing a place for us. That we are not forgotten.
So, in the meantime, we join with the Psalmist who declares, “Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!” We will sing God’s praises here on earth and we will continue to sing his praises in heaven. And oh, what a glorious day that will be.