A beautiful tomorrow

We could all use some encouragement every now and then, don't you think?! And sometimes the overused and well-intended words, "everything happens for a reason" and "this too shall pass" just aren't enough. We need something that really penetrates the heart, something that offers true hope. Something that reminds us that there will be a better tomorrow in the midst of a world filled with such pain.

God has been hitting me over the head with such hope. Don't you love it when He reveals something to you over and over again, popping up everywhere you turn?! Maybe I'm a little slow or maybe He just wants to reiterate his point so that I will stop to contemplate it. To allow it to move from my head to my heart.

It all started with a summer Bible study on the book of Esther, the account of an orphaned Jewish girl raised by her cousin in a Persian land. Every detail of her life...every hardship, every uncanny circumstance...came together to reveal a destiny far bigger than one could ever dream up. It's a beautiful story of the redemption of God's people in the most unexpected way.

During this time I was introduced to the music of Laura Story. If you haven't heard her music before, put it on your to-do list. As Laura sang "Make Something Beautiful" in our church sanctuary I was overwhelmed with the truth of each word.

All I know to do is lift my hands to you
Take all of my life, all of my life
And make something beautiful
I open my hands, trusting your plan
To make something beautiful
So all will see your work in me
As you make something beautiful

"He has made everything beautiful in its time." Ecclesiastes 3:11

A God who uses everything in our lives, EVERYTHING, to bring about beauty...that is true hope, isn't it?! That every hardship, disappointment, suffering, broken dream and tragedy will be redeemed in His time. That "He who began a good work in you, will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)

Many of our questions and doubts will remain unanswered during this life. But we are reminded that God's plan is bigger than our lifetime. There is a promise of a new creation, of a day when Jesus Christ will return and make all things new and all things beautiful. Come, Jesus, come.

Lord Jesus, your Word is filled with truth and hope. Real hope. Not just hope in a better tomorrow but hope in a beautiful tomorrow. Help me teach this to my boys as we live life together - that you are a God who brings beauty from ashes. Lord, teach me to submit to your plan and to trust in your good, pleasing and perfect will. You are sovereign and you are good. And keep me from missing the beauty you bring everyday. Complete the good work that you have begun in my life and make something beautiful.