Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work
together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to
His purpose.
As human beings we want to know the
future. From the time we were little we daydreamed about what our futures would
hold. We would pretend to be doctors, or teachers, or astronauts. As we aged we
began to image who our spouse would be, how many children we would have, and so
on. While imagination is certainly not a bad thing, as we age, daydreaming can
easily morph into worry and anxiety about the future. High School seniors often
grow extremely anxious as they consider what college they will attend. Many
college students worry they will spend the rest of their lives alone. Many
young adults worry that they will never get a good job. Many married couples
fret that may never have children. Many parents worry their kids may not turn
out the way they want them to. Many adults worry about retirement. There are so
many times that we think that if we could know the future everything would be
better. However, the gospel shows us that we do not need to know the future
because we have Jesus!
I have been thinking today about
what it must have been like to be the disciples on the Saturday between
Christ’s death and resurrection. It would have certainly seemed like a hopeless
situation. Their Messiah was dead. It must have seemed equally bleak to the
multitudes that had followed Jesus. Their King was in the grave. The creation
itself was likely stunned. The Son of God was slain. The cosmos was aching.
However, there was One who did not waiver. There was One who did not fear.
There was One who was not anxious. In the midst of the hopelessness there was
God. He was not worried in the least. The God who knows all things was not at
all surprised. Rather, He was seeing His plan unfold. While creation held a
collective breath, God was not taken back in the least. All of history had lead
to this moment and all along the way He was in control. Even here in the midst
of despair He was in control of it all. When no one knew what was going to
happen God did. He knew that His Son was not defeated. He knew that in power
His Son would resurrect form the dead. He knew that Satan, death, sin, and hell
itself could not defeat Him. He knew that He was in total control of
everything. He knew exactly what He was doing. The gospel shouts God’s control
over everything!
The gospel shows us that God is
always in control. Since God is control we do not have to know what the future
holds! We are not in control of anything. We don’t need a crystal ball; we need
the God of the gospel. We need the God who spoke the world into existence (Gen.
1). We need the God who holds the cosmos together (Col. 1). We need the God who
came to our broken planet to redeem men’s souls (Luke 19:10). We need the God who knows all things
past, present, and future (Is. 46:10). We need the God who promised to “work
for the good for those that love Him.”
We don’t need to know the future; we need God! The gospel made the way
for us to be with God. Jesus Christ did what it took to bring men back to God. Since
we have God we don’t need anything else! We need the God who holds the future
in His hands. We need the God who has beckoned “all those who are weary” to run
into His arms. Let the future bring what it may, we have a God we can trust
completely. The gospel does not show us every detail of the future, but it does
show us the heart of the God who controls the future. We know that Jesus did
not stay in the grave. We must also know that the God of the resurrection is
our God! Let’s let go of our worries and let’s cling to the glorious God of the
gospel! He alone controls the future and He alone loved us enough to send His
Son to save us! He is trustworthy. Let’s throw away our crystal balls and let’s
cling to Him!
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