How many times in life have we looked toward the future with expectation, but when it arrives discover maybe it wasn’t really what we expected or had in mind? Maybe not what we expected, or maybe we leave transition from one season in life only to find the next isn’t the “better” we hoped for, just a new kind of difficult.
But that’s the problem, when we root our hope and faith in a future that does not yet exist, in an uncertain world, we set ourselves up for dissolution.
I joked the other day that my “5 year plan” was to make it through the remainder of 2020.
First of all, I’m not really joking. And even that plan feels fuzzy.
But I am working on being okay with that. With giving God each day, trusting Him with the future, prying my white-knuckled hands from the steering wheel.
The whole world seems to be looking forward to 2021 right now, looking for something better than the season we are all in today.
Is there true fulfillment though in a life where we are always looking for “better,” looking to get through the present season on to the next one? I’m not saying there are not seasons of incredible difficulty or pain in life—
But I am saying that our faith and our hope cannot be fixed on the end of a season or transition. This will ultimately result in disappointment when things do not turn out the way we plan, or the transition turns into another one, or seems to drag on endlessly.
As a mother, such mom-based analogies come easily: seems no sooner is a child finally sleeping through the night than a tooth suddenly and angrily bursts through the gums, bringing a new challenge to both sleeping and the rest of the routine. A new season to contend with at the heels of the prior one conquered.
The only constant in life is change— I’m sure we’ve all heard that phrase at one time or another, maybe rolled our eyes, but it’s true. So long as we draw breath and the world turns on its axis, our lives will continue with transitions and changes.
There’s a dangerous word of “then” in our vocabulary.
“Once I/he/she gets the job, THEN we can be happy...”
“(Insert condition) THEN life will improve... THEN I will be happy...”
Conditional happiness in an uncertain world will certainly bring at some point disappointment. Lack of contentment.
You and I do not have to love every season life brings, or expect every transition to feel comfortable.
The truth is, for the better portion of my life I’ve been singing “Jesus take the wheel” all the while white-knuckled at life’s steering wheel, programming my own coordinates into the GPS, and yelling at “God-Siri” when the transitions don’t take me to the destinations I had in mind.
Maybe He has better coordinates.
Maybe I can trust Him that I won’t turn my car into a lake (any Office fans out there? Please refer to Season 4, Episode 2).
How many times in life when our hope and faith is rooted in the person of Jesus Christ and His Salvation are we disappointed in the future?
I’m asking...
Can’t say it’s happened yet.
“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope.“-Psalm 16:9
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” -Romans 15:13
“But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my Salvation; my God will hear me.” -Micah 7:7