A Closer Walk
Making plans for the future. Are we making plans for the future? Doing this gives us something to do as well as something to look forward to. Something to work for and toward. For example, "At the end of the month I'm going to Kansas City." Maybe going with family members. Maybe going with friends. Maybe with a tour group. "I better put some extra money aside to have for the trip." What does this do, or accomplish? It makes us look forward instead of to the past. It forces us to be forward looking and thinking. So? Nothing wrong with looking at the past to try to learn from our mistakes. Or remembering something we did that we really enjoyed. "I really enjoyed that trip to Kansas City with my friends two years ago. I would really like to do that again. I'll start calling friends to see if any would like to go. We could even make it an overnight stay."
Making plans for the future forces us to be forward looking and not anchored in the past. The past is now history. Gone. Done. But the future? That is yet to come. It lies ahead of us awaiting our arrival. All we need to do is make our plans and then go. "But we don't know what the future holds." True. But to find out we must go there. Agreed?
Our Lord does not guarantee us a tomorrow. True again. But He does tell us this. "The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps," Proverbs 16:9 NASB. In directing our steps our God helps us stay on the straight and narrow. Even if the plans we make would, unbeknownst to us, take us somewhere we shouldn't go or be. Our Lord is gracious that way.
Spending too much time looking at the past may convince us that our best days are behind us. And if we believe that our best days are indeed behind us, then it's not far to, "I have nothing to look forward to. No point in even living." Ah! But as Christians we know that is not true! No matter where we are in life, our best days are ahead of us. How do we know that? Because this world is not our home. We are but sojourners here. We are just passing through on the way to somewhere else. And since we are travelers, while we are here we might as well enjoy the sights and see and do as many things as we can. Right? Both God-made, and man-made. At Yellowstone Park you can see the geysers. At Yosemite Park you can see the towering redwoods. In Hawaii you can see the volcanoes. Those sights are all God-made. In New York City you can see the Empire State building. In Kansas City you can see the fountains, or Arrowhead Stadium, or Kaufmann Stadium, if those places interest you. And hey, if you are seeing those Kansas City stadium sights, a baseball or a football game might break out while you are there! What fun! You could even go to the west coast and see the Golden Gate Bridge. And all these sights are man-made. A good trip might include some of both? And it would certainly be fine to lean more toward the God-made or to the man-made on a specific trip.
Making plans for the future keeps us looking forward. It gives us something to work for and to work toward. So make some plans for the future. Our God is already there. And the future is there just waiting for us to arrive. We don't know what surprises are in store for us. Nor do we know who we might meet there. But the future is certainly worth checking out. So make some plans for the future. It's good for you.
“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone, Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living, Just because He lives!” words and music by Bill and Gloria Gaither.