The right future perspective of the Christians

“A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?” (Proverbs 20:24).

                In order for us as Christians to live right in the eyes of God, we must have a right future perspective.

                Look at Proverbs 20:24 – “A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?”  Have you ever made plans in your own life and pursued for your purpose, and eventually didn’t go according to your plan?  When that happens, what do we usually think about?  Have you ever thought that ‘My work doesn’t go as well as I want’?  If our work doesn’t go as well as we want, how can it go well as we planned about our future and work hard to achieve it?  Sometimes it goes well with our plan, but more often, it doesn’t go well as we plan and we face difficulties.  I remember what the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7:14 – “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.”  What does it mean?  It means that we should rejoice when everything goes well, but we must think when we go through difficulties.  God gives to us both happiness and difficulties so that we cannot know what will happen next.  We must realize that we don’t know what will happen next.

                We can be happy when things are going well.  We can rejoice and feel happiness when everything is successful.  The question is, what should we do when we are in trouble?  When the Shepherd Lord makes us lie down in green pastures and leads us beside quiet waters (Ps. 23:2), there is no problem.  But what should we do when we choose to walk through the valley of the shadow of death? (v. 4)  The Bible says to consider (Eccle. 7:14).  What does it mean?  It means that we need to look back on the past when we faced hardships and difficulties.  And as we look back on the past, we must remember how God delivered us from our hardships and difficulties and how He showed His grace of deliverance to us.  This is the right perspective of the past.  Then we can believe that the God of salvation will save us from the difficulties we face in the present.  Then we can face the present difficult reality with faith and with confidence in deliverance.  Although the difficult circumstances have not changed yet, we have changed in which we can boldly go through those difficult circumstances by faith.  Why does God not only give us the happiness of prosperity, but also allow us to go through hardships and difficulties?  The reason for this is so that we cannot discover anything about our future (Eccle. 7:14).  Although we may look better if we know what will happen in our future, we will surely sin more and more against God if we know our future.  If we know our future, we will certainly be proud and not trust in God.  And we will try to live our lives as our own.  Not only we can be lazy, but we can also live our lives however we want to live.  It is better not to know the future.  It's no fun to know the score before the soccer game is over.  We don't want to see it at all.  We need not to know.  We must not know our future.  But what is certain is that only God knows our future.  This is what God says in Isaiah 44:7 – “Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come-- yes, let him foretell what will come.”  Who can say what is going to happen in the future?  Who can tell us about the future work?  There is no one in the world who can speak boldly with confidence what will happen in the future.  Only the omniscient God knows the future.  And all future work is done only by God's sovereign will in His providence.  Therefore, we should listen to these words: “To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.  …  In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”  What does it mean?  It means that even though we plan our way with our hearts, it is God who leads our steps.  God, who guides our paths, tells us: “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”  We must know this thought of God.  We must believe in this God's thoughts toward us.  And this thought of God must be our thought as well.  In other words, we must live by faith with the future and hope in the Lord.  In prosperity as well as in hardship, we must live by faith with the future and hope.

                What is our future and hope?  Isn't it the Second Coming of Jesus?  We must hope and be convinced by faith in the Second Coming of Jesus.  And knowing that we will stand before the Lord and will settle account with Him in the future, we must faithfully take on the mission the Lord has entrusted to us on earth.  We believe that Jesus, who was the same yesterday, today, and forever, will be with us (Heb. 13:8).