The Book of James - 7
The Christian and the Future - Chapter 4, Verses 13 - 17
People have always been curious about the future. Many try to find out what is going to happen to them in the days ahead. Others claim to have special skills and the ability to tell the future. What should be the Christian's attitude to all this?
Scripture lays down some important principles, as we shall discover.
James 4 v.13-17:
"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. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."
It is clear that nobody but God can really know the future. This attribute is solely His. Consequently it is not in man's power to decide precisely and exactly what he will do even on the morrow. No one knows the duration of his own life. It is "a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."
When a person puts their whole trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, then that one must recognise the lordship of Christ. That person's future is in God's hands, and so all their planning for the future must be subject to His will. We must always say, in making our plans, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."
An attitude like this inspires confidence to go forward knowing that God is in control of every moment. This is the reason why we can rejoice in what Paul writes in Romans 6 v. 28:
"We KNOW that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."
This means that we must not seek to order our lives in OUR way, but must willingly submit to Him, and surrender to Him the WHOLE of our lives. Nothing must be kept back from Him. Such a surrender to the loving will of God will mean that we shall expect Him to work in us, through is, and for us. He loves His own. He has promised to never leave us. He has promised to carry us through all the experiences of life. He has promised to direct our paths. The Christian's future is assured.
Knowing that the future is in the hands of our loving God, we must avoid any preconceived ideas of what our life is to be like. For example, it does not mean that we will have an easy path all the way. The Christian life is a constant battle against the world, our own sinful natures, and against the devil. Remember, however, that we battle from a victorious position. Victory is of the Lord, and if we walk with Him, by the power of His Spirit within us, then we shall experience all needed grace to meet every situation that the future may unfold.
Then, too, we shall realise that we are no different from others, and that the common experiences of life will be ours. Even the Lord Jesus was tempted in all points as we are, and faced disappointments, betrayal and suffering, yet He never sinned, and His trust was completely in His Father. That is why He can take us through all of life's trials and temptations and keep us from falling.
If evil men sought to harm the Lord, they will certainly seek to do the same to His followers. So do not be surprised when you come up against opposition as a believer. Remember that at such times the Lord will make a way for you so that you will be able to stand for Him, and bear it. The Scripture tells us that He will never allow you to be tempted above what you are able.
Of course, we must never try to run away from God and make all our own plans. That would be the sure route to failure. Nor must we ever try to persuade the Lord to give us all WE want. God knows the end from the beginning, we do not. And so we can never know what is God's best for us in any situation. God who has promised to guide us step by step, is the One whom we must follow closely and obediently, committing our present and our future to Him.
It may be that at some point in our life, either deliberately or carelessly, we choose our own way and make our own plans without consulting the Lord. If ever that should happen, there is only one thing to do. We must come to Him admitting our wrong and seeking His pardon. We may well have to sufferthe consequences of our actions, but the Lord will graciously pardon, restore us, and encourage us to go on with Him into the future, along HIS chosen path. Do learn from any such experiences to rely continually on Him.
Often the Lord will call us to do some specific work for Him. Sometimes in these situations we feel inadequate, and fail to do what is right. Notice now what James said in v.17:
"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins"
Have you realised this? It is just as much a sin to fail to do good, as it is to do something which is positively wrong. Face up to this challenge, and see to it that you will always be active in doing the will of God. Have confidence in Him to guide and enable you in the power of His Holy Spirit.
The Bible is full of details of men of God who looked to the Lord for guidance in their everyday lives. Moses continually sought God's plan for himself and the Israelites he was leading. He feared to do anything without God's help and direction. Gideon looked for the Lord's plan and presence when he had an important battle to fight. David looked to God to care for him in the days before he was to become king. He never tried to hurry God along, but steadily waited until the Lord made moves on his behalf.
Jeremiah trusted God to provide his every need in the days when he had an unpopular message to give to his nation. Daniel never failed to pray to God and trust Him, even when it looked as though his life was to be threatened. Three God-fearing young men were prepared to be burnt to death, rather than to fail their God, and they saw the miracle of God in delivering them from the furnace.
Paul trusted the Lord to keep him and uphold him in the days when there was great opposition to his preaching, and when he suffered imprisonment and shipwreck as he persued the will of God for him. The Lord Jesus Himself prayed in His hour of trial, "Father, not my will, but yours be done."
It is up to each one of us to commit our future to the Lord and rest in Him confidently. If He is in charge then we need not fear, nor do we need to know beforehand what are to be our experiences in the days ahead. The Christian can say, "I do not know what the future holds, but I know the One who holds the future."