<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth\u201d (Proverbs 27:1).<\/p>\n
OUR ATTITUDE ABOUT TOMORROW IS ONE OF THE MAIN FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE OUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH. If we choose to think rightly about it, we will find that it helps us on our way to heaven. But if we think wrongly about it, we will be greatly hindered.<\/p>\n
One of the problems we have concerning the future is \u201cboasting\u201d about it, and our text in Proverbs warns us not to do that. When we say there is a certain thing we are going to do, we must not attribute more power to ourselves than we actually have. When the time comes, we may not be able<\/em> to bring to pass what we have proposed. So we must not be like the quack in a traveling medicine show, making claims for our \u201celixir\u201d that promise more than it has the power to deliver.<\/p>\n Few things in this world are as important as \u201creaching forward,\u201d but we need to understand what\u2019s involved in this concept from a scriptural standpoint. While there may be some value in being \u201cforward-oriented\u201d in general (that is, looking more to the future than to the past), the future the Christian is always looking forward to is heaven. So when I speak of \u201creaching forward,\u201d I\u2019m not talking about striving for any particular goal in this life; I\u2019m talking about striving for eternity in the presence of God. We can be very definite about that goal, but with any goal between now and then, we must be somewhat tentative. We may want to do certain things tomorrow. We may even plan to do them. But we must not \u201cboast\u201d about them. In other words, we must not be too sure they will come to pass, since the Lord may have other plans.<\/p>\n With respect to tomorrow, I would recommend learning to be content with whatever<\/em> it turns out to be. If tomorrow takes us places that weren\u2019t on our itinerary, well, that\u2019s what lends a sense of excitement and adventure to the life of faith. Come what may, there is one thing that is certain: there won\u2019t come a tomorrow that God can\u2019t use for our good.<\/em> And that, really, is all we need to know.<\/p>\n Lord, give me faith to leave it all to thee! Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n
The future is thy gift;
I would not lift
The veil thy love has hung \u2018twixt it and me.
(John Oxenham)<\/p>\n