We Have Hope

there are things in life that we all must submit to at one point or another. the hunger in our bellies. the thirst in our throats. the need for air in our lungs. most of us though are more than happy to submit to these because in return we find satisfaction. our belly no longer growls, our throat is no longer dry, and our body functions properly for one more breath. but, there is something in which we all try mightily to fight even though our efforts are futile no matter the amount given.

time.

day after day, hour after hour, we are forced to submit to this unforgiving force. waste a few minutes? must use the next ones in order to make up for it. waste your life? sorry, it’s all you get. no exceptions, no special treatments, no choice. one can neither recover what has been lost nor speed up that which has yet to come. we plan so that we are able to maximize the future in the best way we know how. but, time has a partner that we also must submit to.

life itself.

it’s unpredictable, uncontrollable, and unimaginable. sure, we can plan for the next year,  day, or hour, but we aren’t guaranteed those next moments. so although we strain against time in ways that might be successful, life swoops in with the sneak attack to once again render us submissive. there is no other option, no other route available, no other counterattack in the plans. this often has us feeling hopeless and discouraged in our daily lives. how does one have any surety in their lives? something to hold onto and have faith in?

the answer, is God.

time and life cower before the Lord as though they were cubs cowering before the lioness. they bend to His will and follow His orders. the Lord instructs time to keep marching forward – no stopping, no resting until He says otherwise. the Lord commands life to go this way or that – no detours, no unplanned scenic routes unless He has given the go ahead. they are clay in His hands and they take the shape He so desires. except, what does this actually mean for us?

it means, that although we must submit to the strict constructs of time and the unpredictable chaos of life, they must submit to the Lord. it means that the time we feel we have lost can be redeemed and used to glorify Him in some way, while the future is sifted through His hands before it ever reaches us. it means that the life we feel is too overwhelming and uncontrollable is no longer ours to control or worry over. it means that we can hold on to the promises that the Lord will hear us when we call (Micah 7:7) and that He will direct this life as He sees fit (Isaiah 60:22).

it means, that we have hope.