How To Handle The Future

Life is filled with many uncertainties; each day we are faced with not knowing what will happen next. Where will we be 5 years from now? Who will we marry? Will the time and efforts we put in our ventures be successful? Despite all the questions we may have about the future, there is a way to live peacefully. So how do we handle the future? 

I sat one evening thinking about my future, wondering how things would come together in my life. I had big dreams and desires that I wanted to happen in the future, but then a thought creeped inside my mind..what if all that I dreamed and desired would not happen?

What if my boyfriend didn't end up marrying me? What if I lost my job out of the blue? What if my dreams to write this book failed? I had so many unanswered questions about my future, and I am sure that many of you have your own questions about your future. 

With all these questions rushing in my mind, one particular worry was becoming a great concern in my heart: What if my boyfriend would not be the one for me? What if down the road we would not make it into marriage? 

So what did I do in the midst of my worries? I prayed and forced God to reveal to me if my boyfriend was going to be my future husband - if he was the one whom God had purposely planned for me. But it was at that moment when God reminded of Psalms 46:10 which says, "Be still and know that I am God.." I realized that what I had just prayed for was completely wrong and definitely not what God wanted to hear from me. 

God wanted me to be still. 

And not just to be still, but to also know that he is God. The verse does not only ask us to be still, or to be still and worry,  rather it says to be still and know that he is God. 

Being still means not forcing God to tell you everything about your future. It means not forcing God to tell you all the answers you want to know now. God wanted me to be still and trust that no matter what happens, he is God.  That even if we would not make it into marriage, God is faithful and he will provide me with all that I need. 

God reminded me of the importance of knowing who God is. Who is God? We know that he is faithful, good, loving, almighty, trustworthy, merciful, our provider and protector, our healer, and the list goes on and on. We can be still because we know that we have a God who will always take care of us and be there for us. It doesn't matter what will happen in the future, because all we need to know is that we have a God whose love for us will never fail (Psalms 136:1 "Praise the Lord! He is good. God's love never fails.")

When we know who God is, we are able to claim who he is upon our lives, and it then becomes a living and working power in the midst of our situations. When we claim who God is, we receive his love,  faithfulness, and peace in the midst of our stillness. 

Being still means letting go of what you think you need to do, and being completely still and trusting that God's got it. The word "still" means making no movements - we must take no actions and simply be still and know that God has it all together. 

I am a control freak; I don't like the fact of not being able to control my life, and being still and taking no action is the last thing I would ever want to do, but being still and knowing that he is God is a lesson I need to remember.

We will never know our future and this applies to any part of our lives. God might direct you to take a job now, but he might not reveal to you how long you can work there or if you will get laid off. He will not always give you a 100% answer if the man you are dating will be your husband. But despite the uncertainties we face, we do know that we have a God who is in control, and a God who will never do harm into our lives. 

God will always direct our paths, but he will not always give us absolute and definite answers. If we were able to know the future, then why would we even need God? God will not always tell us everything we need to know because he wants us to depend on him. 

God doesn't need you to handle the future, he just needs you to be still and know that he is God. Be satisfied with the information that God gives you, and trust the rest to him. Take life a step at a time and continue to look to him to direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not in your own understanding and he will direct your paths." So remember, be still and let God handle your future.