Finding Fulfillment in the Seasons of Life
Finding Fulfillment in the Seasons of Life
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
This past week the doctor told me to relax and take it easy. He said until they can find out why I was having chest pains to not do anything that would be stressful. So, I decided to do nothing for a few days. For me doing nothing is stressful. But, I did stop and think about life some and here are some things I believe contribute to fulfillment in life.
In life, most of us start out with a pretty basic game plan: Land a good position in a company. Learn and grow. Be further ahead each year.
One of the marks of success in a football team is the ability to change their game plan as needed at half time. In the locker room, the coaches look at what went wrong, what went right, and then adjust their game plan so to put them in the best possible position to play a winning second half.
In life the minutes of the second quarter wind down and you realize that you cannot play this way for the entire game. Something has to change. So, you go into half time with the desire to change your game plan because you know that games are won or lost in the second half. Hopefully this sermon will provide practical principles to help you finish the game strong.
In the Bible, the Apostle Paul carried the message of Christ into his world. During a time of reflection, he penned these words, 2 Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-- and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
It is my desire to tap into the spiritual strength that Paul is talking about in this passage. This strength will enable us to finish strong. I am 52 years old and as you get into the fifth decade of your life, you begin to think a lot about who you are and where you are going. It is inevitable, and I believe, universal.
Some people approach this period in life pathologically and call it a crisis ... a mid-life crisis. These people buy a Harley; unbutton their shirts; wear gold chains; and get a tattoo. They refuse to accept the seasonal change that has come their way.
Let’s face it. All of us are growing older. Today I am 52 and my wife is 39. In ten years, I will be 62 and she will be 39. I may retire at 65 and she will still be 39. I guess the good thing is that she is 39, but still looks 29 to me.
The good news about mid-life is that the glass is still half-full... of course, the bad news is that it won’t be long before your teeth are floating in it. Mid-life is when your 1980s Body-by-Jake now includes Legs-by-Rand McNally. Mid-life is when your memory really starts to go. The only thing you still retain is water. One thing for sure is that you become more reflective in mid-life. You start pondering the "big" questions like: "What is life? Why am I here? How long will I live. How much Healthy Choice ice cream can I eat before it’s no longer a healthy choice?"
Rick Majerus, the men’s basketball coach at the University of Utah, commented about his mid-life experience, "Everyone’s worried about the economy this year. Hey, my hairline is in recession, my waistline is in inflation, and altogether, I’m in depression."
The day will come when you, like Coach Majerus, will look in the mirror, see a receding hairline, or wrinkle, or gray hair, and think, "Hey, I’m not just getting older. I’m getting old. I thought that only happened to everyone else. But it’s happening to me, too. I’m never going to be young again."
The realization that you are never going to be young again sends some people into tailspin. It doesn’t have to. I believe that in every season you can find fulfillment.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2; 11a “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, When its all said and done ... v.11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
One writer put it this way, “Most of us live the first half of our lives as if we had walked into a movie theater twenty minutes after the film started rolling: we are not 100 percent sure what the story is all about, but it seems pretty interesting. By the time we figure out what’s going on, it’s over.”
Too many people live their lives that way. By the time they figure out what life is all about, it’s over. This does not have to be your story. I believe that you can
have the rest of your life to be the best of your life. Regardless of your season or your status, you can begin today with the benefit of past experience and the power of God’s presence for the future.
Bob Buford wrote a book called "Half time." In it he chronicles his journey through the seasons of change in his life. He defines the mid-life years as the interval in a person’s life where he or she explores ways to transform their success into significance.
As I was thinking about that this week, I reflected on the first half of my life. I considered my successes and my failures. Out of this time, the Lord reminded me of several principles that will help me make the rest of my life the best part of it. These principles are building blocks that will help build a foundation of success. They are values that have shaped who I am and who I want to become.
What is this foundation made of? Some key words that mark a foundation in a believers life include: Vision, Faith, Wisdom, Experience, Determination, Commitment, and Contentment.
How can we build a successful future? Here’s How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best…
1. Develop the ability to look beyond the majority (vision)
SHORTED-SIGHTEDNESS is the plague of many people. Listen to some of these statements made by the crowd: "Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." --Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." --Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won’t last out the year."
--The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957
"But what ... is it good for?" --Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." --Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
"This ’telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." --Western Union internal memo, 1876.
"I’m just glad it’ll be Clark Gable who’s falling on his face and not Gary Cooper." --Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind."
"We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." --Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
2. Believe God inspite of the circumstances (faith)
Matthew 21:22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Mark 9:23 .... "Everything is possible for him who believes." Mark 11:22-23 "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.”
Your circumstances may seem bleak; your back may be against the wall; and your life may appear to be over, but remember God specializes in turning darkness into light.
3. Ask God for wisdom. (wisdom)
James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
4. Learn from the past, but don’t live in it. (experience)
All of us have setbacks. We fail. There comes a time when we must move on with your life. Learn from the past, but don’t live in it. Your trophies are a part of your history, not a guarantee
Today could be the day that you move beyond blame and excuses and realize that you are responsible for your happiness and the way you live your life. As a result, you may be challenged to change ... to do certain things differently than you’ve always done them. Don’t live in the past, but learn from it.
5. Be committed for the long haul. (determination)
Philippians 3:12 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
6. Enjoy the ride … the future is bright. (contentment)
Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have…” Philippians 4:12 “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
Psalm 37:25-26 “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed.”
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
It is an understatement to say that God has long range plans for your life. We need to remember that God didn’t make us to just live for 70 or 80 or even 100 years, He made us to live with Him forever. So, how do you prepare for a fulfilled future?
Four Things God Wants You to Do With Your Life
1. He wants You to Get to know Him.
Establish your relationship with God. That’s the first step. How? The same way you do with anybody else. To have a relationship it involves knowing the person, trusting the person, sharing with the person, enjoying the person, listening, spending time with the person. Communicate!!!
You establish a relationship with God the exact same way. Spending time with Him, talking with Him, listening to Him through His word. God wants you to have a relationship, not a religion. Accept what Christ has done for you and get into God’s family. Once you know Christ, you’ll discover that you have other purposes for life. Strongs Concordance says it this way "Christ and the believer have the same life. They are not separate persons linked together by some temporary bond of friendship, they are united by a tie as close and indissoluble as if the same blood ran in their veins."
2. He Wants You To Become Like Christ.
Develop Christ-like characteristics. The Bible teaches that life is a school of character development. God wants to use everything that happens in your life to build character in you for eternity. The Bible says that everything that happens in your life, once you are a believer, God is using to help you get to know Him and become like His son Jesus Christ. God is working on your life to make you like Jesus Christ. That purpose has never changed. In their devotional book, Experiencing God Day-By-Day, Henry and Richard Blackaby ask the question, “Are you satisfied with merely knowing the acts of God or do you also want to know His ways?” This is a question that requires an answer and the answer that we give determines the depth and stability of our relationship with God.
3. God Wants You Practice Serving.
I can prepare for eternity by practicing serving. God has some plans for you in eternity. He has plans for you to serve. He has a place for you to serve. You’re going to be working in eternity. And you’ll enjoy it. It will be perfectly suited to you. You’ll find fulfillment and meaning in it.
God has given you talents and abilities and He wants you to develop them. Meaning in life comes from serving.
4. God Wants You To Share Life’s Purpose with Other People.
At Faith Community, we are committed to helping you prepare for eternity so when you get to your final day you’ll know the right Person and have the right relationship. Because there will be a final exam. The greatest waste is to live your entire life without ever knowing the point of it. To live so that you “gain the whole world, but lose your soul,” by living your life for only temporary things. The best use of your life is to invest it in something that has eternal value.
In Kip Karin, Kenya I met someone incredible. His name is David Tarous. He is an educated, engaging man who has great charisma. He speaks and writes beautiful English as well as Calongene and Kswahili. He could be in the biggest churches in the cities of Kenya, but he has given his life to serve the poor and the outcasts of his village and region. Why does he serve the poor and needy? He says it is because this is God’s place and God’s purpose for his life. He has discovered the riches of doing things of eternal value. Someday he will hear the Lord say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”