"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer" (Psalm 19:14, King James Version).

At work we were asked to think about what motivates us from day to day. I asked myself, "What keeps me going?" The answer is knowing what an awesome and caring God we have and looking to the time when His Kingdom will come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I would be very frightened by the state of the world today if I did not know our Savior will step in and put a stop to the time of Satan (Revelation 20:2). God’s Word is true, and what He has said He will do will come to pass.

I like to spend time meditating on how God will restore the earth to its former pristine state prior to the wrong choices made in the Garden of Eden.

Human history has been written in the misery and the unjust treatment of those who were without power. Ignorance and poverty have been the norm for most of mankind’s history, with despot after despot believing he has the right to impose his will on his subjects and profit from their labor. Even today, most of the billions on our planet have not had the peace, prosperity or freedom of choice we consider normal.

I imagine the change when all the masses of persons who have ever lived are each given a new heart and a new mind, with everyone having his own vine and his own fig tree (Micah 4:4; Ezekiel 36:26). I see them each having the opportunity to have their own little cottage and plot of land to provide for themselves in peace. It will be a world where the plowman will overtake the harvester, and mind-numbing, debilitating hunger will be a thing of the past (Amos 9:13). A world where all will be educated in the ways of God.

Untold numbers of people who have been inhibited by their superstitious beliefs will finally have the opportunity for growth. The ones with mental disabilities will find their minds and thinking healed. Those so downtrodden that their entire lives were just spent in survival mode will learn what it is like to sit under their tree and enjoy the fruits of their labor, and be able to meditate on what an awesome God they have.

I am sure there will be a period of adjustment as people realize they must get along and show respect to others. Those who were the overlords from the past will be there too, and at first, they may feel the pull to continue as they were before. In God’s government, they will be stopped and told: “This is the way, walk in it!” (Isaiah 30:21).

Some say we believe people get a second chance, but what we believe is that all will be given their one and only chance. For some, their time is now, but most of the people who have ever lived have not known about the true God. This will be their opportunity, their time, to choose. God is not willing that any should perish. I realize this can be a hard concept to wrap our mind around, but there is ample evidence in the Bible to prove that our God cares. He will give all who ever lived their opportunity to know Him.

A time without suffering

One of my favorite things to do is to drive down untraveled back roads and see nature without so many modern entrapments. I don’t think in the world to come our landscape will be marred by the power lines that stretch everywhere. I see us rather using "off the grid" forms of energy that will not cause harm or detract from the natural beauty of our planet. We have already tapped many sources of energy that do not harm, and it is my thought that we will use them widely.

Generations of families will get to know each other and see once again those they thought were lost to them. Little babies and young maidens who were offered up as a sacrifice to the god of the former world will be given the chance to live out their lives. Young men who lost their lives on battlefields will learn the ways of war no more and live their lives to the fullest. Their families will rejoice to see them once again. Not only that, but the deaf will receive hearing, the blind will receive sight and the lame will go leaping like a deer! (Isaiah 65:20; Isaiah 2:4).

Talk about a family reunion! I would love to hear the stories of my forefathers and how they came to this country to start a new life. And how their children made the westward journey and ended up settling where they did. Many today do not even know the names of their great-great grandparents. They will get to meet them and know them personally! (Revelation 20:5; Ezekiel 37).

As I drive down those roads and see the tangled overgrowth with flowers managing to push their way through, I think of those same flowers in a world where the briars and brambles are kept in check. I try to envision how it must have looked in Eden. I look at the beauty of the butterflies buzzing around the flowers and wonder—will they be thick like flying flowers? I think of no lives being lost anywhere because of wild animals, because there won’t be any! The lion will dwell with the lamb, and the wolf and the bear will graze with the cow. Snakes will no longer be venomous, and little children will be able to pick them up and admire their colors without being harmed (Isaiah 11:6-8). Will people laugh and watch their little ones ride on the back of a tiger? It all sounds incredible, but Isaiah was inspired to describe our world at a time when God will even make wild animals peaceful.

No more war. No more hatred. No more murder. No more minds twisted by what was done to them as children. No more sickness.

And then the last enemy to be conquered: No more death (Revelation 21:4).

Even Adolf Hitler, Charles Manson and Genghis Khan will have a new heart and a new mind! They may still choose evil (free moral agency will not be removed), but God will remove them forever if they do. With all that God will do to show His everlasting love, a few will probably still choose the wrong way. Some will see their former ways as more appealing than the peace God shows them. I believe most will compare with their past and realize how much better life under the rule of God is.

"They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the water covers the sea" (Isaiah 11:9).

"He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming quickly.' Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20, emphasis added).