Well, it is time once again to send
another calendar through the old paper shredder. Everything that we wanted to
accomplish but failed to will have to float down through the river of remorse
until it reaches lake anticipation. At this time of year, people attempt to act
as though things are different. This year, we will “do more of that and less of
this.” Fat chance! The willpower that
rests between our hips and our shoulder blades that shadowed us with neglect
this year will be there tomorrow. The fact remains, January 1 will have a
sunrise and a sunset just like December 31 did. Am I sounding pessimistic or
realistic?
James reminds us that we don’t know what
will happen tomorrow (4:14). We can talk about tomorrow, but we are limited to
today. Time zones are fodder for discussion. Walking has to be done a day at a
time. We live in a chronological prison. We are locked out of tomorrows; our
yesterdays have fallen out of our reach. Our steps are ordered between
anticipations and memories.
The book of Ecclesiastes must have been
written on December 31. The writer looks back, and then looks ahead and
concludes, “everything is the same… there is nothing new under the sun.” New
Year’s resolutions are no more reliable than resolutions made on the Fourth of
July. Failure does not take a day off on the last day of the year. Our future
is everyday the same … just inches beyond the carrot of our anticipation. The
only way to take care of tomorrow is to be a better custodian of today.
I grew up with the King James Version of
the Bible. In that rendering of the biblical text, we read: “Without a vision,
the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). I have heard many sermons about vision. We
need a mission statement. “He who fails to plan plans to fail.” Many have
spoken quite eloquently about a flowery future, but unfortunately all of the
snakes of life are not in yesterday’s grass.
Is the key to tomorrow “vision?”
Actually, the text should more accurately
read: “revelation.” The key to the future is our response to the Word of God
today! Invest in obedience today, and you will reap benefits tomorrow. It is
not willpower and resolve, self-determination and persistence that can safely
lead us through the uncharted channels of our future, but rather obedience to
the truth that God has revealed to us within the pages of His book. Obedience
there gives us power in prayer and confidence in a sovereign Lord Who knows the
end from the beginning.
Future security demands knowledge of the future and unhindered
power. To Him belong both. Future security comes, therefore, to those who trust
and obey Him today! Security concerning tomorrow from any other source is
deceptive.
Proverbs 29:18
Two critical words
1.
2.
Four lessons from history
1.
2.
3.
4.
The only three things that
matter
1.
2.
3.