I find the cold and dreary winter weather has an effect on me. I’m more tired than normal, more grumpy than normal, and don’t have as much bounce in my step. The thing that keeps me going through winter is the hope of a warmer, brighter season to come. Roll on summer, I say!
While I cannot define what summer will be like, I am confident it is coming. How can I have this confidence? Well, the past has proven the future, which leads me to believe.
Sometimes life feels cold and dreary and a season like this can steal our bounce. In times like this, hope can be lost. I find faith in a brighter season is what gets me through.
“I find faith in a brighter season is what gets me through.“
Phil Strong
Perhaps the reason some people struggle with dreary times is the absence of hope for a brighter future and, without the evidence that would prove otherwise, I can see why hope can be lost. Truth be told, I’m not sure I would be so hopeful without the faith I carry for a brighter day.
The Bible tells us, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” This is why I can weather the dreary season. My faith in God is based on what I have seen in the past and has become the conviction I carry for the future. The future will be brighter because God has proven this to me many times.
“The future will be brighter because God has proven this to me many times.“
Phil Strong
What’s my point for you to consider, dear reader? The absence of hope is caused by the absence of faith, (or faith in the wrong things!) The absence of faith is caused by the lack of confidence that comes through lack of conviction which is the result of lack of evidence.
If you lack experience with God, it’s no wonder you do not have hope. But I urge you, find a way to have that experience and you will see the door open to lead you into a life filled with hope.
One song from the Bible reminds me of this often. “For you are my hope; O Sovereign Lord, I have trusted in you since I was young. I have leaned on you since birth, you pulled me from my mother’s womb. I praise you continually.”
To quote someone wiser than I, Matthew Henry notes, “He that was our help from our birth ought to be our hope from our youth.”
Jesus, the master of Truth, says it this way, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Truly, I agree, you are more important to God than you may realise.
I have walked in dark seasons and experienced the feeling of hopelessness that some may feel today. I have also learned that there is a compass inside us all that helps us to orientate our focus toward the true source of hope. You, too, have that compass inside you.
To close, God will never disappoint the hope that is of his own raising.
Phil Strong
As featured in the TA News 13/07/2023