This post was last updated on February 5, 2026

Day 336, Year 1

Looking for the Heavenly City

“For he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:10 NASB)

There is often a gap between God’s promises and believers’ feelings. This verse shows the key to why God’s promise to Abraham could not be fulfilled until he entered the city with foundations in heaven. In other words, Canaan is not his ultimate promised land. Yet, he waited with anticipation for going into the eternal city. So, he didn’t mind the obvious difference between what he had received in this world and God’s promises. In reality, some believers follow God’s instructions and are largely expecting their lives to be significantly improved. But they are often disappointed with what they are experiencing, and thus some of them fall back into disobedience to God. In fact, the key for us to properly deal with the disappointment is to follow Abraham’s example in his waiting for the city to come, without being chary of what we receive or not in this world.

The word “look for” in today’s verse, in Greek ekdechomai, also means “wait with expectation, receive, or accept.” Living a life of faith needs an eternal mindset. So, we won’t be too sensitive to the gains or losses on Earth. When we are expecting God’s promises, it’s equally vital to accept them now. Conversely, taking His promises for granted or disguising them equals to refusing Him. How do you deal with His precious promises?

Abraham highly anticipated going into the city that has foundations. The word “foundation” is themelios in Greek, which is plural in the verse. It could be translated as “foundation stones” and can also mean “first principals, system of truth, or the beginnings.” Regarding the foundations, the New Testament mentions that Jesus is the cornerstone of us all, and the apostles and prophets are also foundations (Ephesians 2:20). These foundations refer to various revelations and teachings from God so that we can follow Him accurately. Indeed, if we have the right foundation for our trust in God, we will be able to go to the city with foundations in the future. Moreover, we feel that our knowledge is limited, and some problems might not be easily resolved. However, this will no longer be the case in heaven. “Architect” in the verse could be translated as “designer.” Human societies are usually incompatible with heavenly faith. But effective faith will lead us to understand God’s design and construction so as to change our lives according to His ideas and lead us to the city to come.

Reflection questions:

1) Do you feel like you are looking forward to entering the future city that is designed and built by God? If so, what are you going to start preparing for now?

2) Do you know what God has designed for your life with the guidance from His apostles and prophets, and how you strive to change yourself according to God’s design?