Is Heaven What I’ve Been Longing for All Along?

Heaven will fulfill our deepest longings, where we’ll use our God-given gifts and serve alongside angels in our eternal home.

There are many people who have sacrificed their hopes and dreams to take care of others. My mum left school when she was sixteen to help her mother care for her father, who had Alzheimer’s. She had always dreamt of being a teacher. I won’t be a bit surprised if she is a teacher in heaven.

I wonder what unfulfilled dreams, things you sacrificed for others, are still tucked inside of you. Perhaps you started something and simply didn’t have the time to complete it. Life interrupted. Or an illness shelved your gifts. I believe that in heaven, with a new body and new strength, you will be given a wide-open heaven to explore every God-given dream you’ve ever had.

Serving Alongside the Angels

Not only will we be able to use all the gifts and talents that God has deposited in each one of us, we’ll actually get to serve alongside the angels. I think that will be amazing. Toward the end of the revelation given to John, we read,

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”

Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God.” (Rev. 19:9–10)

Won’t that be amazing to serve with the angels? What life awaits each one of us when that longing that exists in every human heart is finally satisfied? When we get home, we will understand what we’ve been longing for. I used to try to erase that feeling deep inside, that ache for something more, but now I embrace it. It should be there. We were made for more, and he has planted eternity in every human heart. That is why you long for more. God placed it in you.

Don’t Give Up, Look Up

Our brother Paul, who had been to heaven, who had seen what we long to see, wrote to encourage us in the midst of discouragements and struggles not to give up but to look up.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (2 Cor. 4:16–18)

Since childhood, I’ve been a huge fan of almost everything C. S. Lewis has written but in particular The Chronicles of Narnia. In the seventh and last book of the series, there is a beautiful depiction of what it will be like to finally reach heaven and realize that it is what we have been longing for all our lives. I love the sentiment he shares through the Unicorn, who stamps his hoof and says that he is home at last. That is what I think we will all say, that we are home at last. That it is what we have always been longing for. We may not have words for it now, but once we are home, we will recognize it. Eternity with Christ is where we have always belonged.

Think of all the best moments in your life. Every single one of them is a promise of what is to come!

In His Word

Read all of 2 Corinthians chapter 4. In verses 7-12, we read that life is at work in Jesus, though death is at work in us. How does it make you feel to know there’s an eternal home waiting for you?

In Your Life

What dreams have you had to put aside in your life? Take a moment to thank God that all your dreams will be fulfilled in heaven.

What have you been longing for lately? Pray about it and make sure to thank God that our longings come from the desire for the glory of heaven and of being close to Him.

We Recommend

We recommend the book The Hope of Heaven: How the Promise of Eternity Changes Everything by Sheila Walsh (and the companion study guide). Walsh takes us into Scripture to answer our most important questions about heaven and encourages us to endure the trials of life by keeping an eye on our eternal home. We love her compassionate and personal stories that inspire us to keep looking toward heaven.

Let’s Connect

Sheila Walsh is an author, Bible teacher, three-time Grammy nominee, and television host who has spoken to over six million people around the world. She cohosts several shows, including Praise and Better Together, on TBN, America’s most-watched faith and family channel. Sheila’s books have sold nearly six million copies and include bestsellers like It’s Okay Not to Be Okay and Praying Women. You can also follow Sheila on Instagram.