March 6, 2001
Elisabeth Elliot (missionary & author) wrote, “Today is mine. Tomorrow is none of my business. If I peer anxiously into the fog of the future I will strain my spiritual eyes so that I will not see clearly what is required of me now.”
This remarkable woman was asked how she managed her time. She said, “I do the next thing. You almost always know what that is. If you do the next thing, you will be okay.”
Some people work hard to control their future. They scheme and manipulate to ensure everything happens the way they want it to happen. Others chase astrology and crystal balls to find out their future, as if knowing it will help them be ready for what is coming. Most of the time, I’ve so much to do today that there is little time to plan ahead. The future is coming but so is today’s deadlines, or my family for supper, or that dratted next appointment.
Whether strained to keep up with today or anxiously concerned about the future, Christians can take comfort that God promises to guide each of us day by day, step by step. Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Job put it like this, “But he knows the way that I take. . . .” and David wrote in Psalm 139, “You know when I sit and when I rise. . . You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.”
A Christian proverb reiterates: “We don’t know the future, but we know the One who holds the future.” Cliche or not, God does know what lies ahead but instead of telling us the details, He holds out His hand and invites us to follow Him around the obstacles and through that maze called life. Being ignorant of what lies ahead offers us a great opportunity to trust Him.
The Apostle Paul was on a journey to take the Gospel to Asia. With his helpers, he “tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.”
Paul’s plans were thwarted. They were good plans but God had another idea. The next line reads, “During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’”
That next morning, Paul “concluded that God had called them” to another destination so changed his plans and went to Macedonia where God blessed his ministry.
This week is filled with things to do but this advice applies to me also. I could make my plans and be annoyed at anyone or anything that interrupted them. But Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”
Lord, I’ve noticed many times that when I make my plans and commit them to You, then I see how You use interruptions to refine those plans. When I keep my hand in Yours and follow where You lead me, Your directions are far better than any plan I can make. Thanks for knowing “the way I take” but also for taking me along that way.
Showing posts with label predicting the future. Show all posts
Showing posts with label predicting the future. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Friday, October 20, 2017
Facing the Unknown .......... Parables 656
October 12, 1999
Last week, without warning, Rick’s boss terminated him. His wife Sharon is in a spin. She asks, “Why this? Why now?” Her security is threatened.
Sharon also says, “If I just knew what we could expect. Will Rick get a job in his line of work? Or will he have to start over in something else? Should he start his own business? What will happen with our mortgage?” As Rick tries to sort his options, she fears the unknown.
Who hasn’t? For years and no matter the location, my husband’s work had a shelf life. When one project was finished, we would be transferred to the next. Even though the move was certain, the location was often unknown, sometimes up until a month before we left.
Even for the most adventurous, the lure of a new experience can slide into fearfulness, even dread. We wondered, Will the new job be a reward or a challenge? Will we be able to find decent housing? Will the children fit into their new schools? Will the neighbors be friendly? We were anxious if not fearful of the unknown.
Another unknown faces Carol. Her husband died in August. Even though he had a heart problem, his death came suddenly. Carol had little warning. Now she gets up each morning alone and goes to bed with a sense of loss. As if those “knowns” were not difficult enough, she wonders about the years ahead. What other changes will they bring? Will she be able to cope?
As much as we want to know our futures, God forbids that we seek answers from astrology or anyone who gazes into a crystal ball. Instead, He offers us another solution: the fact that He knows the unknown and that He is sovereign over it.
As I consider Rick and Sharon and their fears, I recall Sharon saying, “I know that God knows the answers. I just wish He would tell me.”
God does know. But as Sharon struggles with His silence, Rick has a different take on it. He says, “God has taken care of us in the past. He will continue to do so in the future. In the right time, God will bring the right opportunity for us. In the meantime, I will do what I can do.”
In this situation, Rick is thinking about his known experiences with God’s faithfulness rather than the unknown. He realizes how fear of the unknown can pester us into impatience.
Years ago, someone told me how to manage the fears connected with moving by offering this truth from Acts 17:26. It says that God “determined the times set for them (all people) and the exact places where they should live.”
We didn’t know where we were going next, but God did. Since we were trusting Him to take care of us, it seemed logical to trust Him with the location as well.
I began thinking like a child who takes her father’s hand as they enter a midway. She has no idea what ride they will ride, but she knows that her dear father will not put her on anything that will harm her. Instead, he will take her to the one that offers the best experience for her.
Carol is also looking beyond the unknowns to her heavenly Father. She remembers Job’s words from the Old Testament: “He knows the way that I take” and God’s promise in Jeremiah 29: “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Because she and her husband had placed their trust in Christ, she knew God’s promise of eternal life. It was her hope and his too, so Carol knows that she will see her husband again. For her, the immediate future may remain unknown, but she knows who holds the future. As long as she holds on to Him, the unknown is not a problem.
Last week, without warning, Rick’s boss terminated him. His wife Sharon is in a spin. She asks, “Why this? Why now?” Her security is threatened.
Sharon also says, “If I just knew what we could expect. Will Rick get a job in his line of work? Or will he have to start over in something else? Should he start his own business? What will happen with our mortgage?” As Rick tries to sort his options, she fears the unknown.
Who hasn’t? For years and no matter the location, my husband’s work had a shelf life. When one project was finished, we would be transferred to the next. Even though the move was certain, the location was often unknown, sometimes up until a month before we left.
Even for the most adventurous, the lure of a new experience can slide into fearfulness, even dread. We wondered, Will the new job be a reward or a challenge? Will we be able to find decent housing? Will the children fit into their new schools? Will the neighbors be friendly? We were anxious if not fearful of the unknown.
Another unknown faces Carol. Her husband died in August. Even though he had a heart problem, his death came suddenly. Carol had little warning. Now she gets up each morning alone and goes to bed with a sense of loss. As if those “knowns” were not difficult enough, she wonders about the years ahead. What other changes will they bring? Will she be able to cope?
As much as we want to know our futures, God forbids that we seek answers from astrology or anyone who gazes into a crystal ball. Instead, He offers us another solution: the fact that He knows the unknown and that He is sovereign over it.
As I consider Rick and Sharon and their fears, I recall Sharon saying, “I know that God knows the answers. I just wish He would tell me.”
God does know. But as Sharon struggles with His silence, Rick has a different take on it. He says, “God has taken care of us in the past. He will continue to do so in the future. In the right time, God will bring the right opportunity for us. In the meantime, I will do what I can do.”
In this situation, Rick is thinking about his known experiences with God’s faithfulness rather than the unknown. He realizes how fear of the unknown can pester us into impatience.
Years ago, someone told me how to manage the fears connected with moving by offering this truth from Acts 17:26. It says that God “determined the times set for them (all people) and the exact places where they should live.”
We didn’t know where we were going next, but God did. Since we were trusting Him to take care of us, it seemed logical to trust Him with the location as well.
I began thinking like a child who takes her father’s hand as they enter a midway. She has no idea what ride they will ride, but she knows that her dear father will not put her on anything that will harm her. Instead, he will take her to the one that offers the best experience for her.
Carol is also looking beyond the unknowns to her heavenly Father. She remembers Job’s words from the Old Testament: “He knows the way that I take” and God’s promise in Jeremiah 29: “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Because she and her husband had placed their trust in Christ, she knew God’s promise of eternal life. It was her hope and his too, so Carol knows that she will see her husband again. For her, the immediate future may remain unknown, but she knows who holds the future. As long as she holds on to Him, the unknown is not a problem.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Tests for a true prophet .......... Parables 499
February 6, 1996
A friend was offered a $5000 advance just before Christmas. Amazed at this unexpected source of generosity, he wondered if God was telling him he would soon need some cash. The phone rang again. This time it was a sales pitch for a funeral plot!
This amusing story suggests we need to be careful about interpreting life’s situations as special messages from heaven. While God is involved in history, interpreting each of life’s daily events as prophetic messages can lead us astray.
Nevertheless, thousands of people want a handle on the future. Some plan their day around their horoscope. Some seek out fortune-tellers for predictions on everything from vacations to Vatican decisions. Few consider the fact that false prophets abound. Fewer realize there is a test to determine the legitimacy of prophetic claims.
In the Bible, the prophets and seers proclaimed the will of God. Sometimes their messages followed a pattern: If you do this... God will do this.... making it clear that God’s plan included conformity in the lives of those who heard it. Sometimes their utterances included accurate predictions of future events, events that always came to pass.
Not all who called themselves prophets loved and served God. Some were “false prophets.” They were in the fortune telling business but their messages were not from heaven. They claimed otherwise but God’s true prophets challenged their claims.
Jeremiah writes, “Then the LORD said to me, ‘The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.’”
Jeremiah explains to the people: “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.”
According to God’s Word, false prophets tell those who despise God that He will give them peace (inferring that their attitude against Him is okay). False prophets also say no harm will come to those who stubbornly follow their own way instead of His. Jeremiah says none of them seek the will of God or hear His word. Instead, they tell people reckless lies that will not “benefit them in the least.”
When the people asked how they could discern true prophets from false, God gave them these answers. First: “The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity.” A false message will be inconsistent with one basic truth of the Gospel — that we are under bondage to sin unless we turn to God and His saving power.
Second: “If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams... announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, ‘Let us follow other gods’ (gods you have not known) ‘and let us worship them,’ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer.” This test acknowledges false prophets sometimes make predictions that happen but we need to test if their message will lead us toward God or away from Him. If it leads us away, then the messenger is not from God.
Third: “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken.” This is the major test: EVERYTHING a prophet predicts must happen. Otherwise, he or she is a false prophet.
Our friend decided God was not talking to him through his unusual windfall. He didn’t buy a funeral plot. Instead, he paid his bills and purchased some special gifts for his family.
A friend was offered a $5000 advance just before Christmas. Amazed at this unexpected source of generosity, he wondered if God was telling him he would soon need some cash. The phone rang again. This time it was a sales pitch for a funeral plot!
This amusing story suggests we need to be careful about interpreting life’s situations as special messages from heaven. While God is involved in history, interpreting each of life’s daily events as prophetic messages can lead us astray.
Nevertheless, thousands of people want a handle on the future. Some plan their day around their horoscope. Some seek out fortune-tellers for predictions on everything from vacations to Vatican decisions. Few consider the fact that false prophets abound. Fewer realize there is a test to determine the legitimacy of prophetic claims.
In the Bible, the prophets and seers proclaimed the will of God. Sometimes their messages followed a pattern: If you do this... God will do this.... making it clear that God’s plan included conformity in the lives of those who heard it. Sometimes their utterances included accurate predictions of future events, events that always came to pass.
Not all who called themselves prophets loved and served God. Some were “false prophets.” They were in the fortune telling business but their messages were not from heaven. They claimed otherwise but God’s true prophets challenged their claims.
Jeremiah writes, “Then the LORD said to me, ‘The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.’”
Jeremiah explains to the people: “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.”
According to God’s Word, false prophets tell those who despise God that He will give them peace (inferring that their attitude against Him is okay). False prophets also say no harm will come to those who stubbornly follow their own way instead of His. Jeremiah says none of them seek the will of God or hear His word. Instead, they tell people reckless lies that will not “benefit them in the least.”
When the people asked how they could discern true prophets from false, God gave them these answers. First: “The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity.” A false message will be inconsistent with one basic truth of the Gospel — that we are under bondage to sin unless we turn to God and His saving power.
Second: “If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams... announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, ‘Let us follow other gods’ (gods you have not known) ‘and let us worship them,’ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer.” This test acknowledges false prophets sometimes make predictions that happen but we need to test if their message will lead us toward God or away from Him. If it leads us away, then the messenger is not from God.
Third: “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken.” This is the major test: EVERYTHING a prophet predicts must happen. Otherwise, he or she is a false prophet.
Our friend decided God was not talking to him through his unusual windfall. He didn’t buy a funeral plot. Instead, he paid his bills and purchased some special gifts for his family.
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