Hello,
Wouldn’t it be
nice to know what the future holds? I’m
not too sure that would be so great.
Someone once said
that maybe it is a good thing that we don’t know what lies in the future,
because if we did we might not want to venture into it. How many of us would want to know that we are
going to lose our job? How many of us
would want to know that a severe illness is just around the corner? How many of us would want to know that death
will strike? How many of us would want
to know what havoc the powers of the world are going to wreck?
Of course, there
are times when we do get some warning of the prospect of these things, but for
most of us those warnings do not bring peace, calm or hope to life. Also, knowing that all of these things can
happen, it does give us a chance to prepare for them the best that we are able. But as I listen to the news, know the frailty
of health, and am constantly reminded of how puny my strength is compared to
such great things, I know that my preparation can only settle my soul so far.
So, for me, I am
less concerned about knowing what the future holds, than who holds me in the future. As some of you may know, I have a verse in
the Bible that I call my focus verse, a verse that pulls into focus the heart
of my relationship with God. 1 John3:1, “See
what love the Father has given us, that we might be called children of God, and
that is what we are.” In this verse of
scripture I see gathered up what the whole of the Bible would want us to know:
that no matter what the future holds, God holds onto us.
No matter if the
world throws its best punch at me, the world will not claim me. God will.
No matter what a mess I make of my life, the mess will not overwhelm
me. God will. No matter how fickle my faith might be, my
fickleness will not guide me. God will. No matter how loud the nations might roar,
their roar will not fill my ears. God
will. “See what love the Father has
given us, that we might be called children of God. And that is what we are.”
So, today, not
knowing what it will hold for any of us, I leave you with this favorite prayer
of mine from our worship book, a prayer that like 1 John 3:1 brings peace to my
soul, calm to my heart, and a light to my path:
“Lord God, you have called your servants to ventures of
which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us good courage, not knowing where we
go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through
Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Amen.
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace,
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
No comments:
Post a Comment