What Lies Ahead

To be honest, for the next two years that purpose was still fairly unclear.

Isaiah 53:1-12

Reference: v.5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed. (TNIV Bible)

Explore: By the time I got to year 11 at high school I was about to start my fifth school in six years. Due to moving towns and school closures, I had had a bad run with schools, finding it more difficult to settle each time I moved.

My Year 11 school was the worst. I didn’t feel like I fitted in, I was shunned by a couple of friends I thought I had there, and then I got terribly homesick as I was staying in the boarding house.

I can remember going to bed one night in the first term and crying myself to sleep as I repeated the same prayer over and over again, “Why, God? What is the purpose to me being here?… Why, God? What is the purpose to me being here?…”

To be honest, for the next two years that purpose was still fairly unclear. I feel like I survived my time at the school rather than flourishing at the end of my education. I often feel like there’s still a dark cloud over those two years when I look back at my past.

However, if I had not gone through those two years I would not have had met some great friends that I still have today. Also, I probably would not have ended up in the University college that I attended and the biggest thing is that I would not have developed as quickly in my faith.

Due to those heartbreaking two years I learned to lean on God more than anything else in my life. It was during those two years that I really explored my faith and started to claim my beliefs as my own and not just those which I’d inherited.

While I’m glad I will never need to repeat those two years again, I can now look back and see the positives that came from them.

Application: Just like I can look back at my past we can also look back into scripture to see what had been foretold about our Saviour.

Isaiah 53 is an amazing chapter of prophecy. I’m not sure what people thought of it when they read it before Christ died and rose again, but it seems fairly devastating.

Phrases like ‘despised‘, ‘rejected’, ‘suffering’, ‘punished’, ‘crushed’, ‘oppressed’, ‘afflicted’ certainly bring a dark feeling on what was to come. And yet, now that we look back at this passage, knowing the darkness of Good Friday but the glory of Easter Sunday, this passage holds so much hope rather than devastation.

I believe that it is the same for our lives. God does not desire for us to dwell on our sorrow, but when we hope in Him then He will bring glory to all of our pain. We don’t know what is ahead, but when God is involved we know He brings all things together for the good of those who love Him.

Prayer: Lord, the road ahead is unknown. When we look forward it can often be with trepidation. May we hold onto our faith in You, knowing that You have our future and will be there for us each step of the way. Amen.

How do you feel about your future?

challenges, future, hope, Isaiah, Jesus, prayer, prophecy, school