“so what does the future hold?”
depending on the context or the company you’re in this question could have a vastly different answer. in one scenario you would give visions of flying cars and other inventions that could come out of a scene from the Jetsons.
and then in another setting you would give your predictions on the outcome of the presidential election, or of a sporting event, or the season finale of a TV show.
and then there are times that the question is asked in terms of your personal life. perhaps you were just given tragic news or circumstances and you ask yourself or God, “what does the future hold? what am i going to do now?” or perhaps you’ve just completed some great accomplishment such as graduation from a school and people wonder what your plans are for a job or more schooling.
and then there are times that you just feel stuck in a rut and you’re just wondering, “will life ever change?” you try to make a 5/10 year life plan and end up more puzzled at the end than when you first began.
the first setting, the Jetsons, one is probably the easiest to answer. you can just let your imagination run wild and dream. you most likely don’t have any direct impact on whether your predictions come true or not and so you can say what ever you want.
the second setting could be based on an educated guess, or just hopes, or your passions and reasoning. but once again the outcome has to do with what happens to “other” people. the outcome may or may not affect you directly but in the end you could distance yourself if the outcome doesn’t turn out as you predicted because after-all, “it was just a game, TV show, election, etc”.
but it’s these last two settings where the question is harder to answer. and it’s also where the answer you give usually leads to more questions. and because you are so directly involved in what brought you to the place to ask the question you also feel more pressure to answer correctly.
as Christians, we know that God holds the future in his hand. we know that despite what our circumstances are now (good or bad) we should put our trust in Him for what will happen in the days ahead. but that doesn’t stop us from asking God and ourselves the question. and in fact, when reading the psalms we find that God isn’t surprised or offended when we ask. often the psalmist questions God about the circumstances around him and how long he would be in those circumstances.
in case you’re wondering, i didn’t write this because i feel like i’m facing some monumental change or decision in my/our personal lives. a new school year will be starting soon, i hope to be getting an iPhone in about a month and a half, and as of now we’re still looking forward to perusing ministry with FamilyLife Today next january.
but i wrote this post because i thought it might encourage one of you. perhaps one of my readers is in that season of life where they’re wondering what the future holds and not sure how to completely trust God with the answer. all i can say is that you can trust Him because He is trustworthy, you can trust Him because His Word is has proven itself true, and you can trust Him because time and time again He has shown Himself to be faithful to His people who were in similar circumstances as you.
so, do you have a need you’d like prayer for? do you have a decision you’d like advice in?
what does your future hold?
——————–
// today i’m thankful for:
1. a team of great ministry friends
2. keeping in touch with old friends by actually talking on the phone
3. leaning from my past mistakes
4. the security of knowing God is there
5. still being able to question Him anyways
