Do you have fear when you think about the future or confidence and hope? Many people I talk with today including church leaders look in despair toward the future.
None of us can predict the future. Often someone will have a minute of fame by being on the news or on the internet with a prediction of the end of the world. When their projected date arrives and the world does not end, then they re-calculate or make some excuse.
As followers of Jesus Christ we must trust the Lord for the future and attempt to be faithful today, which is actually the only day we have to serve Christ. We must be careful about predicting future events or trends even in church life because we could be totally off base. Here are a few predictions that did not actualize.
“Everything that can be invented has been invented,” declared Charles H. Duell, the U.S. Commissioner of Patents. That was in 1899.
Horace Rackham was advised by a president of the Michigan Savings Bank not to invest in the Ford Motor Company in 1903. “The horse is here to stay,” he predicted, “but the automobile is only a novelty – a fad.” Fortunately for Rackham, Henry Ford’s attorney, he ignored the banker’s short-sightedness and bought $5,000 worth of stock. He sold it several years later for $12.5 million.
In rejecting an aspiring band in 1962, Decca Records made this fearless prophecy about its future in music. “We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out.” Thus the company passed on signing the Beatles.
“There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home,” said the president and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation in 1977.
Life is an adventure. As a Luke 9:23 disciple it is a “daily adventure” of following Christ and seeking to be at the center of His will. As the song says we may not know the future but we know who holds it in His hand. We should have great confidence in the future because we know Who is in control. We also have some great promises to hold onto from God’s Word.
Here are a couple of promises to keep in mind during times of change and uncertainty.
“Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). “No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you through it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
The future for our economy, who will be elected president, changes in musical styles, and all the cultural changes are beyond our complete understanding. I am sure there will be new breakthroughs in astronomy, medicine and science but the thing we possess that is absolutely certain are the promises based on God’s Word.
Those promises take the uncertainty and fear out of today and the future helping us move forward with great confidence and faith in God.
As I depart from serving the Kentucky Baptist Convention in a few short weeks and anticipate where the Lord may lead me in the next chapter of ministry, I have a strong inward confidence that the Lord is going to provide. I don’t know where or when or what or how but I do know the Who and that my friend makes all the difference anyone ever needs.
If we are really concerned about the future then we should focus our total attention on the One Person who actually knows something about it…JESUS.
Keep the Son in Your Eyes,
Mike James
