To everything, turn, turn, turn.
I’m hoping for what The Byrds (and King Solomon) talked about.
I hoping for a turning.
There is a season, turn, turn, turn.
What is in a season? We mark the seasons of our lives by more than just a calendar, we mark them by feelings. We mark them by joyful occurrences and painful happenings. Difficulties and victories, separations and reunions. New things coming and old things dying.
A season can be marked by days and it can be marked by scars. It can be marked by open doors, laughs and tears.
2013, as a season, was a hard one for me. It was indeed, one of the most difficult years of my life. More tear stained pillows and more questions marks than I can remember.
And so last night, I breathed a sigh of relief as I joined the joyful throngs, welcoming in the New Year with glad tidings.
A new season, a fresh start.
Right?
This season is over, right? I’ve stepped into a new one, I’m sure of it. The clock has changed over, the calendar has been turned, it’s a fresh and new year.
Or so I want to believe.
This changing of the Roman calendar does bring me hope, that year is over and we can move on.
But does my hope lie in that bright new number of 14 or in something so much deeper, something eternal?
When in a week and a half the excitement of a new season wears off and I find myself back in the same old routine, will the hope carry over? The fact of the matter is, the seasons of my life aren’t really dictated by the calendar, they’re dictated by my Lord and the freedom he has given me in my life.
We walked through the desert this year. Together, we walked. Hand in hand and step by step even when I didn’t feel Him and even when I was mad at him, we walked on.
There is a breath inside me that says we’ve made it, we’ve made it through. The promise land is right around the corner, the table is ready and waiting, the fruit is coming.
You’ve died, it’s time to be born.
You’ve planted, it’s time to reap.
You’ve been killed, it’s time to heal.
You’ve wept, its time to laugh
You’ve been broken down, it’s time to be built up.
You’ve mourned, it’s time to dance.
It’s what my heart so longs for and yes, the crowds shouting down,
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
makes my heart leap with joyful anticipation, expectancy and relief.
But here is the catch, what if 2014 is a hard year too? What if this season doesn’t really change? What will I place my hope in then?
If the changing of numbers fails me and leaves me in the same season in my heart, where it really matters, what is going to be my response?
That is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to faith. In the blind walk.
Walking in promises yet to be fulfilled.
Walking in assurance of hope.
Walking in joyful anticipation.
Hope that rises from the changing of an earthly season is not a bad thing, it can lift our spirits and our eyes. Man was not made to walk without hope. We need it to survive. It moves us forward and onward, it lifts our feet to step again and brings a smile to our face.
Truly sick is the heart without it.
I am not trying to bash the hope that comes from joyfully ringing in the New Year, I think it has purpose and can propel us forward. It can give us the quick shot that we need to get us back on our feet, moving forward.
But it does not last.
There is only one hope that last, only one hope that sustains continually, in and out of seasons.
When I feel like I’ve died, it brings me back to life.
When I’ve wept, it lifts me to laugh.
When I’ve mourned, it moves me to dance.
The only hope that can do this is the hope in Jesus. In my best friend, in the lover of my soul, in my champion and my rock.
Yes, I want a new season, I want a different year. And yes, I am believing for it. I’m allowing my hope to rise, my faith to mount up, joy is springing forth. But something is different, I’ve got a confidence that I don’t remember before. Because something, deep down inside me, knows that even if it is a difficult year, it will be ok. I will not be moved. My hope is in Him.
So yeah, I’m believing for doors to fling wide and callings to come forth and dreams to be realized and miracles to flow, but I’m placing my hope in Someone and not something, so I’ll wait for Him to do all those things.
Not prosperity gospel, but a prosperous daughter. A dearly loved Child who knows no matter how long it takes, her Daddy is taking her to the high places. We will get there, in His timing. I AM blessed.
And so I pray to my Father for faith, for hope and joy. The kind that sustains in and out of the seasons on the calendar and the seasons in my heart. I certainly cannot do this on my own, I’m in need of a Spirit of Power inside me. Thankfully, he promises it.
I have high hopes for a great 2014, but I have a higher Hope in Someone who will never change. And that, will carry me through anything.
