Are Current Events Stealing Your Joy About Your Future?
Remember how excited you were when you were 7 years old and your birthday was only a week away? How you couldn’t wait for your big day?
And then, remember dreaming about how great it would be to be an 8-year-old?
Now, decades (for some of us, decades and decades) later, how do you feel about your next birthday? Do you still dream with happy expectations about what your life will be like in the coming year? Or does the prevailing “wickedness” of the day squeeze out your zest for the future?
If it’s the latter, can we regain our joy – even in our current circumstances?
We can.
Let’s begin by …
Remembering that a sovereign, loving, powerful God is still in control.
Then let’s …
Rediscover our purpose by asking God to show us why He has chosen us to live in these specific times.
Do you recall the story of Queen Esther? Her people (the Jews) were threatened with annihilation. Esther resisted getting involved until her uncle Mordecai said to her,
If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14 ESV).
Esther had a choice. She could intervene for her people or allow her fear to overtake her, thus condemning herself and her father’s house. Had Esther chosen not to step up, she’d have missed out on being used for a very important mission – to save her people.
My question to each of us is: How shall we live each day, each year, in such a time as this?
Have you asked God why He’s chosen you to live in the time you’re now living? Have you asked Him how He wants to use you in your current circumstances?
How would it change our thinking – even our excitement about life itself – if we considered the fact that we were born to live for this very hour? That God intentionally chose us to be a part of His plan, specifically with the current events He knew would be going on?
God is sovereign.
He loves each of us deeply.
We can trust Him.
So even when we’re worried about the future, I pray we’ll be faithful to step up so we don’t miss out on the incredible life He has chosen for us.
Then we can be excited about our next birthday. And dream about how great that next year will be.
What do you think?
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this post. (Others might also benefit from your comment.)
- How shall you live each day, each year, in such a time as this?
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This blessed my heart this early Sunday morning as i prepare my sermon for the church. Thank you for your obedience to God!
Thank you, Ben. Praise God for using me for His purposes! As He often does, He used my writing to help me too! Honest. 🙂