YOUR FUTURE
“It may not be on the mountain’s height,
Or over the stormy sea.
It may not be at the battles front.
My Lord shall have need of me.
But, if, by a still small voice, He calls
To paths that I do not know,
I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Thine,
I’ll go where you want me to go.”
–Mary Brown
Just as a loving father plans the very best he can for each of his children so your father in heaven has made a plan for you—the very best you will let Him make. But he cannot carry out that plan without your cooperation. When the clay mars in the potter’s hands he often has to turn it into a far humbler vessel than He had first planned (Jer. 18:3-4). It should be our earnest desire to take the Lord’s best for our lives.
God can plan your life far better than you can. The Psalmist said: “Delight thyself also in Jehovah; And He will give thee the desires of thy heart. Commit thy way unto Jehovah; Trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass.” (Ps. 37:4-5)
The way of self-seeking and self-indulgence leads only to corruption and despair (Mk. 8:35; Gal. 6:8). We do not need to envy those who live for self and self alone (some even claiming to be Christians). Their pleasures are only “for a season” and then comes the long bitter harvest, how different it is for those who truly follow the Lord. The way gets brighter as they go onward. “But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” (Prov. 4:18)
Naturally you are much concerned about your future—what you are going to do with your life. Now that you are a Christian this question has a different viewpoint. What are you going to let God do through you? (Prov. 3:6). But how can you find out the will of God for your life? A radio does not automatically pick up messages from the air. It must be tuned in. So, with your life. You must desire, first of all, to know and do the will of God. Jesus said: My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me and accomplish His work.” (John 4:34). The will of God was His food. He had a hunger to do the will of God. This is the biggest hurdle to get over—really wanting to do the will of God. It is well to ask, as did Paul: “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10)
God reveals His will (1) through His Word, (2) through earnest prayer and (3) through providential circumstances. Though it is natural to want to know from the beginning what your special life work will be, God usually guides us a step at a time. If you want the Lord to lead you into a greater work, the most important thing is to give your best to the work you are now doing. The Lord may want you to preach to multitudes or He may put you in some quiet, humble position which is just as important in His sight.
You cannot afford to let your vision of the work that can be accomplished for the Lord to be clouded by the disinterestedness and lack of vision that may be displayed by others. The Lord can use and bless you regardless of what others may or may not do.
Jesus said: “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white already to harvest.” (John 4:35) The chief business of every Christian is the spread of the Gospel throughout the world. This was the Lord’s final commission to His disciples. This is the work that the church is in the world to do. The Lord wants you to have apart in that work. Whether you preach at home or in foreign fields, publicly or privately, He wants you to tell others of Christ. Naturally, the primary concern of Christians should be centered on those places where the Gospel has never been preached. What greater joy or honor could there be than that of taking the good news of salvation for the first time to those who have never heard? Should not our love and gratitude to the Lord for what He has done for us and our loyalty to Him impel us to go forth into this great work which He has put into our hands? It may seem now that you could never qualify for such a great and noble work, but God can accomplish that which to you seems impossible.
William Carey, when a young man, worked in a shoemaker’s shop, but all the while his vision was centered upon those lands where Christ was not known. On the wall of his cobbler’s stall, he hung a large map of the world upon which he wrote statistics and information concerning every country. Every available moment was spent in diligent study preparing himself for the great work he desired to do for God. As a result of his vision and consecration he served forty-one years in India and has been called “the father of modern missions.” His motto was well exemplified in his own life: “Expect great things from God.” “Attempt great things for God.” Your life too can count for God if you are willing to let Him use you.
But the greatest and most important event in your future is the second coming of Christ. This is the blessed hope of the Christian for which we are to wait and watch (Tit. 2:13; 1 Thes. 1;10; Matt. 24:44). No one but God knows the time of His coming, but we can know when the time is drawing near (1 Thes. 5:4-6; Luke 21:28; 34-36). Meanwhile we should live and work that we be prepared at all times for the coming of the Lord, for all our hope is centered upon His appearing again (2 Pet. 3;12; 2 Tim. 4:7-8); 1 John 3:3; Heb. 9:28). This hope, if kept bight, will have a purifying effect upon our lives. “Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone that hath this hope set on Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3) No wonder the Holy Spirit calls this a “blessed hope.” (Tit. 2:13).
“And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who will also do it.” (1 Thes. 5:23-24)
WHEN THIS PASSING WORLD IS DONE
When this passing world is dome, When has sunk yon glaring sun.
When I stand with Christ on high, Looking o’er life’s history—
Then, Lord, shall I fully know, Not till then, how much I owe.
When a stand before the throne, Dressed in beauty not my own,
When I see Thee as Thou art, Love, Thee with unsinning heart—
Then, Lord, shall I fully know, Not till then, how much I owe.
When the praise of heav’n I hear, Loud as thunders in the ear,
Lord, as many waters noise, Sweet as harp’s melodious voice—
Then, Lord shall I fully know, Not till then, How much I owe.
E’en on earth, as thro a glass, Darkly let Thy glory pass;
Make forgiveness feel so sweet, Make Thy Spirit’s help so meet;
E’en on earth, Lord, make me know Something of how much I owe.
–Robert Murray, McCheyne