Looking Towards the Future
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19
Raise your hand if you are excited about the future. Now raise your hand if you are also absolutely, positively terrified of the future. (If you have two hands raised then you are not alone!)
No matter your age, the future is a scary place. Maybe you are about to start high school and you can’t stop listening to “Fifteen” by Taylor Swift. Maybe you only have a few years left and you are a) excited to graduate or b) never want to leave. Or maybe you’re about to get that diploma and you are on such a rollercoaster of emotions that it truly just depends on the day. First of all, been there girlfriend! You are not alone! The future is scary… but you know what? It’s full of promise.
The Bible gives us so much reassurance about what is to come. Isaiah 43:19 says, “God has something great in your future.” Even though we don’t know what’s going to come, we know it’s going to be good. If that isn’t the coolest feeling in the world, I don’t know what is!
With that said, sometimes things don’t work out in the way we think they should. Maybe you didn’t get into your top college, or the boy you have always liked starting liking another girl (I know both of those things happened to me!) But, just like you’ve always heard, everything happens for a reason… Even if in the moment it totally breaks your heart.
The Bible reassures us in John 13:7: “Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’” The future may be scary, but there is amazingness waiting for us, and even if we don’t understand why certain things happen– there is a plan for us. That plan that God has for us, it’s perfected in His image. It’s created with us in mind. So there is no doubt that whatever it is, it’s going to rock! So, until our future arrives, we must wait. Just as Naomi told Ruth, “Wait my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out.” – Ruth 3:18.
As quickly as the future feels like it is approaching, and as good as it is going to be, don’t forget to enjoy today and the goodness it brings. Ferris Bueller said the famous words – “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”
Don’t spend too much time fretting about tomorrow that you forget about today. So even in moments when you can’t wait for high school or that first day of college, remember to say “thank you” to your lunch lady, and go out of your way to truly get to know your classmates. Because when push comes to shove, the future always ends up arriving a little before you’re ready to give up the present.