“And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there” (Acts 20:22).
IF YOUR PEACE OF MIND DEPENDS ON KNOWING WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN, YOU PROBABLY AREN’T GOING TO ENJOY BEING A CHRISTIAN. God does not supply us with any specific information about what is ahead for us individually in this world. And the reason for that, presumably, is that we don’t need to know what is going to happen. What we do need to know are the following facts.
God is in control. The ways in which God is involved in every detail of what happens may be debatable, but surely we can agree that, whatever happens, God is still on His throne. He is the sovereign Ruler of His creation, and we need to live our daily lives in the confidence that nothing is going to happen that will take God by surprise or cause Him to reconsider His eternal purposes. No matter what happens, God’s ultimate will is going to be done.
God will help us. When Paul said in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” he stated a truth of surpassing importance. As we yield ourselves to God’s will, we need never fear that anything impossible is going to be required of us. Not knowing the future, we may wonder whether problems will arise that we can’t handle, but such a fear is quite unnecessary. Whatever needs to be handled, He will help us handle.
In the end, God will gain the victory. Although the decisive battle against Satan was won on the morning of Jesus’ resurrection, the war against evil has not yet been brought to a conclusion. We don’t know how many more skirmishes will have to be fought, nor do we know how many of those we ourselves will have to fight in, but we do know that the outcome is a foregone conclusion: God is going to vanquish His enemy. That’s all we need to know. What happens between now and then . . . well, time will tell.
So quit worrying and quit trying to figure out what is going to happen. It doesn’t matter. The Christian life does not consist of predicting and planning. That’s God’s business. Our work is just doing the simple daily duties that lie clearly before us, come what may. And if the “uncertainty” of that kind of life makes you uncomfortable, then you probably should just get used to it.
“In the concert of life, no one receives a program” (Dutch Proverb).
Gary Henry — WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
