HOPE FOR TOMORROW
- Key Verse
- "Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed . . . . If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come." (Job 14:5,14)
READ THE CHAPTER
Central Truth
God has instilled in us a longing and a hope that there is more to life than what is here on Earth.
Reflections
I LOVE watching Gray's Anatomy, but I have rules when I watch it. The boys must be in bed and my husband can't talk during the show! During one particular episode, there was an old man who wanted a questionable surgery to be performed. In his years of so-called wisdom he pointed out, "One day you are going to wake up and all the big stuff, all the milestones you have been looking forward to are all behind you. Graduation, wedding, having kids, your grandkids. It's all behind you. It's all over. All you got is a bunch of yesterdays and very few tomorrows." How sad is that, and yet how many people truly feel this way?Job was a rock star in his time. He was respected, influential, the greatest man in the East, blessed with riches and a large family. So when his milestones were so quickly behind him it was easy to feel he had nothing more to look forward to. He had his yesterdays and assumed his tomorrows were limited. Yet throughout the book of Job you see one central trait resounding in him: Hope. He had no way of knowing what it meant, but instilled in him was a hope that there was more to life than what was here on Earth.
In Psalm 39:6-7 David writes, "Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you." Sound familiar?
Job, David and many others in the Bible had only a vague concept, if any, of living again once we leave this Earth. However, we as Christians living in this day and place are blessed to know that there is one milestone to look forward to that is greater than any we aspire to here on Earth. That is the milestone of reaching Heaven. God wired us to long for that hope for Heaven. Consequently, not having that hope for Heaven leaves a person feeling empty and restless.
Discussion Questions
1. Do you worry about growing older? If you are older, does the thought of "It's all behind me" worry you?2. Are you content in your life or do you feel you are always waiting for that next milestone?
3. What is your hope for tomorrow? Do you have the knowledge of salvation or is this life all you have left?
a) If you don't have the knowledge of salvation, how does it make you feel to not know what comes next?
b) If you are assured in your salvation, consider the person who isn't. Imagine what it must be like for them to grow old and not know what, if anything, is their tomorrow.
4. Who has God put in your life that you can share this message of HOPE FOR TOMORROW with? Or who can share it with you?
Comments
The views expressed under “Comments” are solely
those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Hill Country Bible Church NW.
Chip Smith
March 18, 2010 06:10 AM
Way to go Angel! You took a dismal chapter and pulled out a golden nugget of truth and application. I don't watch Gray's Anatomy, but I am at that place where many milestones are behind me. There are days when I lament that those milestones are gone never to be relived again and just the other day as I watched a father play with his small boy, I longed for my little boys who are now young men. On New Year's Eve, I know that I am one year closer to my big day, but, because I am a believer in Christ, I have hope that that day will be a graduation instead of a funeral. Thanks for a wonderful log of hope this morning. May God grant us power and boldness to tell others of this hope we share in Christ.
Tim Hawks
March 18, 2010 08:35 AM
Thank you Angel. Spending time in this chapter has been a great start to my day. Then, reading your reminder of hope both in Job and in David really tops it off. Life has plenty of trouble and suffering. When we face trouble, we get self absorbed. So today God is telling me to focus on others and enjoy the beauty around me--to embrace the "hope" in Him and spread it around.
Laurie Carlson
March 18, 2010 08:45 AM
Thanks Angel, well done devotional! Our only hope for this world is to live for what is to come. Good reminder for the day.
Cindy Hawks
March 18, 2010 09:16 AM
Angel, Thanks for pointing out the hope! I love how he describes it in the verses following v. 14, that God will call and he will answer, that God will not keep track of his sin, that He will seal his offenses up in a bag and cover over his sin. He was hoping in a forgiveness without fully understanding how God would provide it in Christ. We, as you said, today do have a fuller understanding. So thankful for the hope we have in Christ. Thanks for highlighting that for us today.
Diana
March 18, 2010 09:54 AM
Angel, You have very mature insight for one so young. Thank you for sharing
Van Chau
March 18, 2010 01:34 PM
Great insights, Angel! I needed the reminder today. I remember the empty & restless feelings of hopelessness before I came to Christ. And I do see this as very evident in those I interact with that don't have this hope. Lord, may the memory of our hopelessness be ever so fresh each day so that we would have love & compassion for those that are lost.
Linda Jean Butler
March 22, 2010 11:48 AM
Ladies and Gentlemen - ANGEL~! I remember that vividly. That was a long time ago and one of the great memories that are now behind me. Sometimes I do look back with fondness, feeling sorry that those days are over. Thanks for a new perspective.