“I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out---plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on Me, when you come and pray to Me, I’ll listen. When you come looking for Me, you’ll find Me. Yes, when you get serious about finding Me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed,” Jer. 29:11-14.
If God offered to show you one day in your life 5, 10, 20, 30 years from now, would you take Him up on it? In the hypothetical world that exists pretty much 24/7 in my mind I’ve burnt quite a few brain cells contemplating this one. Tempting as it may sound, I’m pretty certain God’s never going to make that offer.
Jesus stresses the importance of focusing on this day repeatedly in His time on earth. Finding gratitude in this day, regardless of what the future may or may not hold, seems to be a mark of trusting Him. Trusting Him involves abdicating ourselves from the ruling throne in our lives and allowing Him to reign through every season of our life.
I love the biblical account of cousins Mary and Martha when they meet, both expectant and so full of joy. One carrying the Savior of the world; the other carrying His forerunner sent to prepare the way. Elizabeth is so full of delight; “when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly…the babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for sheer joy…” Luke 1:41-44. Their embracing of life and pure joy is the real life stuff of a Hallmark moment (minus the crass merchandising)!
While reading this account I realized, God would not rob us of our present joy by showing us future pains. Would Mary and Elizabeth’s joy have been so pure and flourishing if they were also to see how their sons’ lives would end 33 years into the future? I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed as I contemplated the severity of the emotions these women went through. During their pregnancies, the Bible uses these descriptors:
• “she went off by herself for five months, relishing her pregnancy,” Luke 1:24
• “I am bursting with God-news; I’m dancing with the song of my Savior God,” Luke 1:46.
• “I’m the most fortunate woman on earth! What God has done for me will never be forgotten…” Luke 1:48.
• “seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, they celebrated with her,” Luke 1:57.
• “Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself,” Luke 2:19.
I don’t envy the path these women walked. Talk about extremes in joy and devastation; seems more than any mother’s heart could handle. Ultimately God’s glory prevailed in these tragedies, but can you imagine being the mother attached to these stories. Scripture records very little regarding how these women faced the brutal deaths of their sons. John’s death is recorded in Mth. 14 and Jesus’ in John 19. We do know Mary witnessed the brutal execution of her Son. The horror that must have wrapped itself around her soul during those hours, I cannot imagine! Scripture is very clear to show how God redeemed the greatest tragedy of mankind to become the greatest triumph man has ever known. God is calling each and every believer into a life of trust with Him that we will not always understand but He has promised to redeem. I am also thankful He does not mar my present joys with sight of future pains.
“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes,” Mth. 6:34.
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