Finding Hope
Finding Hope
By Trisha Sharp
On Talkin’ Turkey
17 October 2020
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 tells us that there is a time and a season for everything;
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…
God actually designed life to run in cycles…or seasons. We will have bad seasons. That’s just a fact of life. However, we will also have good seasons. Knowing there’s a “time to weep and a time to laugh” frees us from our perfectionist’s attitude. We are not perfect, but we always try to be. Why put that kind of pressure on yourself. You can’t be perfect. You can only be better. Better than yesterday. And tomorrow, you will be better than today. Even if your improvement seems like so little that it shouldn’t be counted…it’s improvement. You’ll never reach perfection, but as long as you do the absolute best that you can, with what the good Lord gave you…you’re good to go! Stop with the pressure on yourself and accept the seasons.
Psalm 30:4-5 says;
4. Sing the praises of the Lord, you His faithful people; praise His Holy name. 5. For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
This tells us exactly what I’ve already told you about good and bad seasons of our lives. If you’re in a bad season, you can bet your life that you’ll eventually come to a good season. The trick is to “count your blessings” so to say. You have to be grateful for what you have before you can expect more. If you’re not grateful for what you have, why should God give you more to be ungrateful about, right?
Revelation 21:1-4 tells us of what we can look forward to and expect for our future.
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying in pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
To everything there is a season and a purpose. As we accept this truth and learn to embrace where we are, we grow in grace and in the sufficiency of all that we need during that season to walk in excellence. We must resist the urge to fall behind and grow impatient with where we are. Only you know what season you are in and what your attitude is toward your situation. Take stock of where you are and how you view yourself in light of that knowledge and step up to the challenge of being the best you that you were created to be.
So there you have it. Stop being so hard on yourself!! Be the best you that you can be and let go of the rest. Whatever it is that is so important that it “has to be done right now”, didn’t get that way overnight and a lot of times can’t be resolved quickly anyway. Do what you can when you can, then get to the rest when you can. Don’t beat yourself up anymore over what you can’t do. Be grateful for what you can do.
God Loves you and I do too!!