Come now, you
who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend
a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not
know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears
for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If
the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that." James 4:13-15
In thinking about time, the next thing we must deal with is the future. Our yesterdays are behind us. Our tomorrows are not yet here. Indeed, tomorrow never comes. When it gets here, it is today.
It should be said about the future, that it is uncertain.
There is no guarantee that we will ever
see any point in what we call the future. Our lives could end at any time. There is no guarantee that we will live to be
ninety, or eighty, or seventy, or fifty, or even thirty. History is filled with talented and gifted people
who met unexpected tragedy from all walks of life. Most of us have personally
known several people who died unexpectedly at a very early age. None of us have a guarantee of tomorrow.
Tomorrow is not even
ours anyway. God holds our future in His hands. This does not mean that we do not think about the future or
plan for the future. We should certainly
do both of those things. We should
consider the possibilities for the future and we should also be prepared for
what the future may behold. But we
should think realistically about the future if we are to live effectively in
the present.
The future can give
us hope. One thing it does hold is the promise
that it may be better than the last year. It holds the promise that things needing
change in our lives may in fact be changed. While there are no guarantees, the opportunity
that the future gives brings hope for change.
On the other hand, the
future can give us a false hope. It can provide a false sense of security and
thereby keep us from living effectively in the present. By assuming that we do have some guarantee of tomorrow we can postpone many of the
things we need to be doing today. This
false hope that we will be able to accomplish something "tomorrow"
provides many people with the excuse they want so they can put off the very
thing they need to do today.
I have met so many people who attempt to live in the future. They are going to do great things when they
get around to it. When they have time,
they are going to become more involved in things that count. When this happens, or that happens, they will
then begin. They will do it later,
tomorrow, next week, next month, someday. The fact is that time never comes, the
situation never is right, tomorrow never arrives.
I heard a story of a pastor visiting newcomers to the
community. The wife began to attend
church but this man always put the pastor off. He said that he would come to church just as
soon as he got straightened out. Each
time the pastor would visit him the man would make the same reply. As soon as he got straightened out he would
come to church. Finally, the man died. The pastor was called upon to hold the
funeral. As he stood behind his pulpit
in the church sanctuary looking down at the coffin with the man inside, he
thought to himself, "Well, he finally kept his promise."
Today is the day to change your tomorrow.
Scripture to Claim:
Then
Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD
will do wonders among you." Joshua 3:5
NASB
