“Paradise was and continues to be truly wonderful,” said the heavenly man. “Nevertheless it wasn’t the splendour of heaven which overwhelmed me when I first arrived here – rather it was the fact I was pain free at last!

“For years in life I had suffered with my joints on earth. I had pain in every part of my body at times; it was hard to read, difficult to walk…it was difficult to do anything. Sometimes I prayed for just one day free of pain.

“Can you imagine therefore, how I felt on my very first day here? I commenced my new life by praising God for my spiritual body because I was freed from all pain. Then I ran, and ran, and ran, excited that the zeal of youth was mine for eternity (Psalm 103:5, Isaiah 40:31).

“Every sickness, every ailment was gone and I was young again! I never realised I would experience the zeal of youth anew, and it was magnified beyond all I had known before.

“One of my favourite Scriptures became so very real to me: ‘Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint’ ” (Isaiah 40:31).

This is an excerpt from the book ‘Heaven - A Journey to Paradise and the Heavenly City’ by Paul Backholer and is used by permission.