There are times of waiting that the people of faith must go through until they receive the promised blessings. They wait for the coming of God and for the delight which they will enjoy forever in the everlasting kingdom of heaven.

They also wait for the Last Judgment Day when their enemy the devil will be judged, and for the glorious day when the following prophecy will come true: "Those who have fallen asleep in faith will be raised from the dead. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be changed and meet God in the air."

Waiting requires endurance and preparation as well. Let's take some time to think about what we must wait for and what we have to prepare for while living our lives.

Faith that waits for God

The Bible tells us that we were originally angels who lived with God in heaven but got involved in the rebellion of Satan and were cast down to this earth because of our sins.

To save us who had committed sins deserving of death, God Himself came to this earth and atoned for our sins by shedding His blood on the cross. Thanks to the sacrifice of God, the way for the spiritual sinners to receive the forgiveness of sins and to go back to heaven has been opened.

Our souls have been eagerly waiting for God, who will redeem us, for such a long time. The object of our waiting, whom we have been earnestly longing for, is God.

Isa 30:18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

Ps 130:6 My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Not only the saints of the Old Testament but also the disciples who witnessed the ascension of Jesus cherished the hope that Christ would come again, and they walked the path of faith with joy. In this age, we have the same hope as them and are earnestly longing for the coming of Christ.

I believe that our souls must wait for God more eagerly than watchmen wait for the morning. Everyone must be waiting for someone or something, but we God’s people have to wait for the coming of God in faith while refining ourselves.

The promise of heaven and the hope for change

As the Bible says that blessed are all who wait for God, the grace of salvation and the blessing of eternal life are given to those who are waiting for God. At the last trumpet, those who have died in faith earlier will be raised from the dead, and we will also be changed and meet Christ in the air.

1 Th 4:16–17 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

1 Co 15:50–53 We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

This amazing change is pre-arranged for God’s people at the end of their earnest waiting, on the day when God comes again. Let’s find out what other kinds of waiting there are.

2 Pe 3:11-13 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

"You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." This means that we should wait for God to come as the Last Judge on this earth while living holy and godly lives. On the day when we will welcome Heavenly Father and return to our heavenly home with Heavenly Mother, our eternal days full of joy and delight will start.

Rev 21:1-5 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. . . ." . . . He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Rev 22:1-5 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. . . . There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

"A new heaven and a new earth," which Apostle John saw in a vision, refers to the kingdom of heaven. When the eternal kingdom of heaven comes, there will be no more death or pain or sorrow and God will let us lay down all our burdens which have given us hard times on this earth and will give us eternal joy and happiness that will never wither away and everything else we desire.

Since the Bible tells us to wait for this glorious day, we should put more hope in the eternal kingdom of heaven and give ourselves fully to the work of God. Our labor in God is never in vain (1 Co 15:58).

Let us wait for heaven while emptying ourselves

To receive what we are eagerly waiting and longing for, we need to prepare for it. When autumn comes, trees prepare themselves for the upcoming season. Autumn is the season when trees adorn themselves most beautifully than any other seasons. When they are about to throw away their thick leaves, they turn into the beautiful colors of yellow, gold and red. After radiating their beauty to the fullest like that, the trees shake off all their leaves and welcome the coming winter and spring.

Through these principles of nature, God reminds us that everything and everyone can be most beautiful when they try to throw themselves away completely. We, too, should empty ourselves filled with the disgraceful thoughts of the world and receive God fully into ourselves.

Php 3:7-9 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, . . .

Apostle Paul forsook his thoughts, knowledge and his own self. After removing his arrogance and evil nature which obstructed him from receiving God, he decided to only have Christ within him.

As trees are most beautiful in the season when they throw themselves away, so we can become most beautiful spiritually when we empty ourselves like Paul. The trees that have completely abandoned themselves endure even a freezing north wind and a fierce snowstorm, and they greet spring when everything comes to life. This is the principle of rebirth into a new life.

Jn 3:3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

Jesus has taught us that no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again. In order to be reborn, we must forsake ourselves. When we throw ourselves away, we can have God within us.

When we let go of ourselves completely, God comes closer to us and becomes our treasure. To those who are born again by getting rid of all their worldly thoughts and desires, God says, "They remain in Me, and I in them," and also gives them this promise, "They will bear much fruit" (Jn 6:53-56; Jn 15:5).

Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

When we remove all worldly desires from ourselves, Christ lives in us and works in our lives; He gives us new life and controls everything—all our thoughts and minds and even our faith. Our selfishness and stubbornness that still remain within us, our arrogant mind which prevents us from realizing that we are sinners and makes us consider ourselves better than others, and our egoistic thoughts—when we get rid of all these things, we can have the mind of Mother.

Even God forsook Himself and came to this earth for us. Now, it is time for us to abandon ourselves. By removing the sinful nature from us and receiving Heavenly Father and Mother, we must have the mind of Mother within us. We will be changed beautifully when we forsake ourselves without seeking our own good, take care of our brothers and sisters, and care about their spiritual safety with the mind of Mother. That's why Apostle Paul advises us to have the mind of Christ (Php 2:5).

Heavenly children born again to have the mind of Mother

A mother is an elder in a family, but she always works like a servant. If her children soil their clothes, she washes their clothes by herself. She cleans up the room which their children have messed up, and she also cooks food for them. If her children are sick, she also nurses them all by herself. Even though she is in a much higher position and deserves to be served by her children, she only does lowly and tough work like a servant, taking care of her children.

No matter how hungry she is, she tries to feed her hungry children first.

According to rank, she deserves to eat first and then she may give her children anything left to eat. However, she never does so. She is not authoritative and does not want to be served, but rather she always yields to the lowly. It is a mother who endures the most for her children.

‘Would a mother not breast-feed her hungry child? Would a mother hate her child and hurt him or her? Would a mother rest comfortably even after losing her child?' If we think about the mind of a mother carefully, we can find out what we must do. When we have the mind of a mother, we are able to obey every teaching of God described in the Bible.

God our Father has made us realize Heavenly Mother, the new Jerusalem, and let us be guided by Mother. She personally sets us an example of how to love, instructs us in everything, prays for us Her children from early in the morning even when we are unaware of it, solves the problems of so many members all around the world, and comforts them. Seeing what Mother is doing, we should also have the same mind as God our Mother.

If we have the mind of Mother, we must be able to do what Mother is doing and care for the members whom Mother is taking care of. I hope that by doing so, each and every soul will grow graciously in Zion and all the members in Zion will enter the eternal kingdom of heaven by welcoming Father without lacking anything, without any regrets, when He comes back.

When Jesus was taken up into heaven on the 40th day after His resurrection, He asked Peter three times, "Do you love me?" Then He told Peter repeatedly, even three times, "Feed my sheep and take care of them." It is the duty of all who love God to take care of God's people. Taking care of them and feeding them spiritual food with the mind of Mother—this is our basic duty as those who have received the truth earlier.

The fruit of the Holy Spirit produced with the mind of Mother When we fully arm ourselves with the mind of God our Mother, we can easily achieve the Ten Talent Mission. If we find it hard to accomplish the mission, it is because our minds have not yet been changed. We cannot do anything if we try to do it by ourselves with our own minds.

Suppose that a mother has a missing child. The mother will be anxiously looking for her lost child, even forgetting to sleep and take a rest. There is nothing more urgent than finding her lost child. We need to examine ourselves to see if we are preaching the gospel with the earnest mind of Mother. Unless we have the same kind of earnestness in mind as Mother, it is so hard to find a soul.

Those who have the mind of Mother bear much fruit even though they are not fluent in speaking and are lacking in knowledge of the Bible. Here is a convincing example: The long-term and short-term overseas mission teams are leading so many souls to God. This shows that the gospel does not depend on our ability but the key factor is whose mind we have. Although the mission teams are not good at speaking the local languages in difficult and unfamiliar environments, people are curious about them, thinking, ‘What are they preaching so eagerly?' Then they follow them to Zion and receive the truth.

It is the same with the gospel in our country. If we preach the gospel with the mind of Mother, wherever we are, it blooms and bears fruit. When we have the heart of God our Mother, we can be like the five wise virgins waiting for the bridegroom with enough oil for their lamps and can be worthy to wait for the kingdom of heaven.

On the traditional Korean holidays, many people visit their hometowns with great anticipation to see their parents and siblings. At the end of this waiting time, there will also surely be the day when we go back to our eternal heavenly home. As parents are eagerly looking forward to seeing their children, so our Elohim are earnestly waiting for us, Their children, to change beautifully and to return to our heavenly home.

Are you not curious about what kind of place the river of the water of life is, what angels look like, and what the kingdom of God looks like? Looking forward to the overwhelming joy in heaven, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him," let us get rid of all our evil habits and wicked personalities and always have Christ within us, so that none of us will fall behind but all will reach the kingdom of heaven. I earnestly hope that you will treat people around you with the mind of Mother in your home, church and community and lead many of them into the loving arms of God as great prophets.