Julie and I pray this finds you full of joy and peace. A few days ago I read the following quote in the introduction to 1 Thessalonians in the Message Bible.
“The way we conceive of the future sculpts the present, gives contour and tone to nearly every action and thought through the day. If our sense of future is weak, we live listlessly. Much emotional and mental illness and most suicides occur among men and women who feel that they have no future.”
The Christian faith has always been characterized by a strong and focused sense of future, with belief in the second coming of Jesus as the most distinctive detail. From the day Jesus ascended into heaven, His followers have lived in expectancy of his return. He told them he was coming back. They believed he was coming back. They continue to believe it. For Christians, it is the most important thing to know and believe about the future. The practical effect of this belief is to charge each moment of the present with hope. For if the future is dominated by the coming again of Jesus, there is little room left on the screen for projecting our anxieties and fantasies. It takes the clutter out of our lives. We’re far more free to respond spontaneously to the freedom of God.
This really got me meditating about our hope and future in Jesus. He always has amazing and positive things for us to do with Him, loving others and building His Kingdom for the future generations. This is true no matter our age or stage of life. Psalm 103:5 in the amplified states, “That the Lord satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle’s [strong, overcoming, soaring]”. I like the fact that the Lord has designed that no matter what our age or stage in life is, He has something good to satisfy our hearts with.
My friend, Pastor Bryan Cockrell, once told me, “Your twenties and into your forties are your growing years. Your forties into sixties are your knowing years. Then your sixties into your eighties are your showing years.” When we understand that there are stages in life, we will not be frustrated and lose hope. When you are young and learning (growing) you should not be so concerned that you are not able to produce all of what you are learning. When you are operating in and producing what you have learned and what the Lord has developed in you, be content. You are still growing, but now you are growing in wisdom produced by experience. Then as you are entering into the showing years, you understand that you may not be able to produce as much as before. Now it is time to begin to pass on what you have learned to others, to show and impart into others. This is when we can now multiply what the Lord has taught and given us. Though seasons of life change we always have a future. We just need to embrace the new season and the new and good things the Lord has for us in it.
Remember Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.” He has many thoughts and many plans for us. I want to encourage you that whatever age or stage you are at, Jesus has something amazing for you to do with Him. Something that you will truly enjoy doing and that will be a great blessing to other people. Let us not look into or at the world to discern what our future may be. Let us be looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (our story). You may have lived one or two thirds of your book, but He has new chapters for you to live. So as the plot thickens, there will be new and exciting twists and turns in your beautiful story with Jesus.
Jesus is coming back, so the long-term future is very positive. Until then, He is with us and in us everyday, so our immediate future is extremely bright. By connecting others with Jesus, we truly change their future and thus change their today. He is the best thing we have to give others.
Thank you for your prayers. Julie’s shoulder is doing great!
With much love and many thanks,
Charley & Julie
