What do we know for certain about tomorrow? What will the weather be? Will the market be up or down? Who will win the big game? Is there a major tragedy or triumph in our future? There are those who claim to have the answers to these questions, and similar ones, but they don’t. The only certain prediction about the future is that it remains uncertain!
It is not wrong to look to the future, but we must consider the uncertainties. James wrote: “Now listen, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil” (James 4:13-16).
I am reminded of something Ahab, king of Israel, said to Ben-hadad, king of Syria. Ben-hadad demanded of Ahab all of his gold and silver, and the best of his wives and children. Believe it or not, Ahab agreed. Then Ben-hadad went a step further. His representative would enter Samaria and seize anything of value. That, too, would become Ben-hadad’s property. This was more than Ahab could stomach. He had agreed to forfeit his silver and gold. He would even allow Ben-hadad to take his wives and children. But that was it. He would not agree to more. His second demand rejected, Ben-hadad boasted that within twenty-four hours there would not be enough of Samaria standing to give each of his soldiers a handful of dust. Ahab, replied, “Tell him: ‘One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.'” The next day Ben-hadad and his army were driven from Israel (1 Kings 20, 21).
All our plans should be contingent upon God’s will. HE is in control. We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but he holds tomorrow in his hands. Through the prophet Isaiah, he declared: I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come (Isaiah 46:10). Because of this, we can have confidence in his promises. We can live in hope, not fear. And, we can know that whatever tomorrow brings, as his children, all is well.
Do you face the uncertainties of tomorrow with fear and trepidation? In Jesus Christ, there is no need for fear. Do you know him? Have you obeyed him? Are you living for him?
