HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 143
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while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do
this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans.
God reveals enough to increase our dependence on him. When we know that he knows
the future and that he wants us to be part of that future, we realize we must rely on him to
lead us there. That is the essence of what it means to live by faith. Faith is trusting him for
our future, not trying to create it all by ourselves.
• E C C L E S I A S T E S 3 :1 1 | God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted
eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work
from beginning to end.
• H E B R E W S 1 1 :2 0 -2 2 | It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his
sons, Jacob and Esau. It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each
of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff. It was by faith that Joseph,
when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He
even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.
God reveals enough to allow us to place our faith in him; he can be trusted with the future.
As I wait for eternal life, how can I be sure God will direct my future in this life?
The Lord directs our steps. Though the pathway may lead through some dark valleys or
seem to take some unnecessary detours, we will one day look back and discover that the
Lord’s way was best.
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• PSA L M 3 2 :8 | The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will
advise you and watch over you.”
Too often we doubt God’s care. We are tempted to think he is neglecting us or giving us
the bare minimum. But God, our loving Creator, desires the best for us. We must cling to
this hope.
• PH I L I PP I A NS 1 :6 | And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will
continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
God finishes what he starts. We should not allow the limitations of our finite perspective to
blind us to the promise that God will complete his work in us.
How has God guaranteed my future?
• 2 C O R I NT H I A NS 1 :2 2 | And he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in
our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.
• E PH E SI A NS 1 :1 3 -1 4 | And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that
God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you
the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give
us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people.
God guarantees our future with the gift of the presence of the Holy Spirit in us and the
security of the power of Jesus’ salvation for us. When we are “in Christ,” we will live as
long as the Lord lives, which is forever. Though our present bodies will die, our redeemed
souls, along with our new bodies, will live with him forever.
What are some practical ways of living today for the future?
• PSA L M 7 3 :2 4 | You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.
Seek God’s counsel daily. You can’t see the next step in the future, but the Lord God sees
the whole pathway that lies ahead of you. Ask him to be with you!
• PR O VE R B S 2 4 :1 4 | In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will
have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short.
• G A L AT I A NS 5 :2 2 -2 3 | But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Be wise, honest, good, and peace loving. But you can’t be truly wise on your own. You need
God’s wisdom from his Word. You can’t be truly good or honest or peace loving without
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• J E R E MI A H 2 9 :1 1 | “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans
for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”