Hope for your financial life and beyond

The Future Is Where Your Present Goes to Die

Hidden Nuggets Series #95 – “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11

I’m not 100% sure about the future.

the futureI don’t know for certainty what it holds, where I’ll be five years from now or what I’ll be doing.

At times in my life it’s been unnerving not knowing what’s going to happen tomorrow, next week or next year. It’s easy to get wrapped up in and obsessed about it to the point where it hinders us from achieving anything in the present. In that way the future becomes where the present goes to die.

Don’t misunderstand. I’ve got plans. I’ve got ideas. I’ve even got dreams.

But they are MY plans born out of my best guesses as to where I see life taking me. There is no assurance they will unfold based on the expectations I currently maintain. The pathways of life can turn on a dime as I’m learning more and more the older I get.

I wish I could write a post for you entitled “5 Easy Ways to Figure Out Your Future” and be done with it. It’s really not that simple. But what I can share with you is the hope I have that my future is already taken care of. It’s in the hands of the One who does know.

“For I Know…”

When I obsess about the future I’m reminded of Bible verses like this one from Jeremiah 29:11,

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

God had a plan for the people in the Bible to whom he spoke this message. At the time they were not in the best of circumstances. The idea God leaves them with is a) that they actually had a future and b) that it was good – something to look forward to. They were words of promise and hope in a dark time. And I don’t think it’s a stretch to say I can apply this verse to my life as well.

The tough part of course is in the waiting. God doesn’t say when or how he’ll reveal the future. It’s up to me to patiently wait and be ready to respond at a moments notice.

It might be tough for you to embrace the idea there is an all-knowing God out there who knows what’s going to happen in your future. Even more so that he is directing you into your future. “My life is in my own hands,” you might be thinking. “No God is in control of my life!”

I understand that sentiment it’s just not where I am. I’ve given my life to God and believe that He truly directs me. For this reason I have internal peace about the future yet can still maximize every opportunity in the present. The unknown future doesn’t prevent me from being productive in the now.

Lean on His Understanding

Many years ago I memorized this verse from Proverbs 3:5-6,

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

I don’t have to know today what’s happening in my future. Practically, I can’t anyway. My understanding is limited and faulty. When I lean on it alone I end up creating a mess and clogging up the present.

I’m content to put my future in the hands of God and let Him direct my course.

Questions: Do you believe God knows the future and has a plan for you? Do you have a difficult time trusting Him? How has your life changed from what you thought it might be? Do you let worrying about the future distract you from what’s happening in the present?

Image by S. Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Comments

  1. Sometimes I have to remind myself that everything happens for a reason and, although I don’t know that reason, it will work out.

  2. I have to admit that waiting is always a test of faith. Patience was never my strongest point but during my most trying time, when nothing seemed to be going the way I prayed they would, I decided there was nothing else I could do but to let God and put my entire faith and life to Him. My life now turned out to be the life I prayed for, but the path to get here was nothing like what I imagined. I learnt that just because God didn’t give me what I asked for, when I asked Him, it doesn’t mean He never will. Everything happens in His time…He is never late but never early either. He knows exactly when to make things happen. Thanks for writing this, Brian. I had a good time reading. 🙂

    • “…I learnt that just because God didn’t give me what I asked for, when I asked Him, it doesn’t mean He never will.” That is very true and a lesson we all need to embrace. Thanks for sharing J.

  3. Brian, thanks a lot for the beautiful verse. Right now, I’m facing a big challenge of my life, sometimes I really wanted to give up. Now, I really need to trust in the Lord with all your heart and I know He will direct me to the right path.

  4. Jayson @ Monster Piggy Bank says

    Brian, that’s a nice quote from Proverbs. I think we just have to focus on the present, making sure that everything we do is in line with our goals and plans. We always have to remind ourselves that God is there to direct and lead us to the right path.

  5. Michael Tully says

    Well said, Brian. I came to the Lord relatively late in life (at age 41), so I’ve viewed the planning and control of my life from two perspectives. As a younger man, I thought I knew exactly where I was and where I was going, and I was often angry, bitter, and fearful whenever “luck” or “circumstances” intervened to destroy whatever vision for my future I was harboring at the time. After my conversion, God has given me the discernment to see that He does indeed direct my paths. And thanks be to God that He does so! I worry so much less, and sleep so much better, with my Lord in the driver’s seat.

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