They enter in, some smiling, some confused, some nervous. It is the first day, they all look freshly showered in new clothes and shoes, anticipating a day of rules and expectations. Some not so excited, because school is hard, not a fun place for them.
That was the quote I had on the my QOTD board for the first day of school. I wanted my students desperately to cling to the fact that they can hope and dream. In fact they should.
They are young, they have so much life left to live. I want them to dream about the maybes and the possibilities to come before them.
But you know what….I need that to, I need to hope and dream.
Even though life isn’t what I expected it to be at this point, I need to hope and dream of the possibilities.
God is not finished with me yet.
There is so much life left to live. Even when I am 85, I want to have that hope too. That until my dying breath, God is not done sanctifying and using me in the lives of those around me.
We all know those people who talk about their glory days, whether it be high school or college. They talk about those days as if it were the best ever. They never seem to think anything better can happen to them. They live in the past, reliving those days over and over again and seem to be unsatisfied with the present and the future. They don’t enjoy the life they have now and they aren’t really hoping for anything better to happen in the future.
We don’t want to have that perspective, because the best is yet to come. God promises us that, in his Son and his second coming.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.(Philippians 1:6 ESV)
However, for now we are still here. And when we live with the hope of something better, not in a idealistic way, but in the humble hopeful anticipation, we live life with a zeal and joy that is unmatched. We live facing each day with excitement of what God can do in that day. We live our days with joy that God can still use us.
It is so easy to think that after we left the “prime” of our life that God can’t use us.
But let’s look at Moses, he was used as an old man, the father of the nations.
Sarah still gave birth after her child bearing days had passed.
God still used Joesph even though he was sold, in prison, and lived many years in struggle.
Ruth lost her husband, and she was apart of the lineage of Jesus.
David was just a simple shepherd, turned great king, but also a sinner and God still used him.
Peter denied Jesus three times, and he still was used in mighty ways.
Sarah still gave birth after her child bearing days had passed.
God still used Joesph even though he was sold, in prison, and lived many years in struggle.
Ruth lost her husband, and she was apart of the lineage of Jesus.
David was just a simple shepherd, turned great king, but also a sinner and God still used him.
Peter denied Jesus three times, and he still was used in mighty ways.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)
All over the bible, you see stories of the sinners, the downtrodden, the hopeless, the destitute, the ordinary people, who are past their prime, unlikely to do anything, but God uses them the most.
To me, that is the most encouraging, even when I think my story is over, it isn’t. The best is yet to come.
So friend, I say to you, the best is yet to come! Don’t fear, give up or give in, the best is yet to come.
(*The picture is a print from a shop on Etsy. You should buy it. http://www.etsy.com/shop/decodezign)
Anchor of my Soul 
I love this! Sometimes I feel like we're sold the lie that if we're not super successful by a certain point in our lives, then we might as well give up our dreams and settle for mediocrity. Thanks for the reminder that it's never too late and the best is yet to come!
(Thanks for posting this in the Hustle Writers group. I'm adding you to my feedly reader!)
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