I can't tell you how many conferences I've seen advertised
that have a theme something along the lines of
"Vision 2020 for the future".
It's really catchy.
Well, we're in the year 2020.
So, how is the year going for you?
We always, we always talk about our hopes and our dreams
and our, our resolutions at the beginning of a new year,
but then we kind of leave it until the beginning of the next year.
So, this is kind of like a mid-year checkup.
How have the first few months of 2020 gone for you?
I'm going to guess that there were probably some unexpected things that happened.
Actually as we record this, we are in the midst, right now,
of the coronavirus pandemic that swept across the world
and throughout our country changing life as we know it.
If you would have asked me to predict that in 2019,
I would not have, that would not have been on my radar.
Right? So what about the future?
What about the next few months? What about the rest of the year?
Can you see what's coming?
Well, neither can I.
Well, what do we do with that uncertainty?
There are some solutions out there.
The world certainly has some solutions.
One of the magazines that I subscribe to
has an article that I like reading called
"The last word." It's the last two pages of the magazine.
And recently the article piqued my interest.
Because it was entitled, "Learning to accept your decline."
And the basic premise of the article was that,
in your career,
you go on an upward pattern for about 20 years
and you hit a peak, and then you plateau for a while.
And then you start your decline in your life.
And that was kind of a depressing article.
But what was more depressing, was the solution they offered for it.
They said that because your decline in your career is linked with the fear of death,
then the answer can be found in Buddhist corpse meditation.
Apparently, there are some monasteries in Thailand and Sri Lanka
where they they display photos of
corpses at various stages of decomposition.
And they want the monks to contemplate them.
And the idea is, the more you meditate on death,
the less power it has over you,
because it doesn't become strange anymore.
So in other words, lean into death and your demise,
and things will get better.
What? That doesn't solve the problem.
Then again, some of the "religious answers" aren't any better.
Recently, I heard a preacher preach, that I didn't agree with obviously,
but he preached that we need to prophesy our future.
That your words become your reality.
So the idea is, if, if negative things are happening in your life,
it's because you're thinking negative thoughts.
So just think positive thoughts
and prophesy good things for your future
and they'll, they'll become a reality.
So you need to be saying things like,
"I'm getting younger",
"I'm going to keep a full head of hair",
"I'm going keep my health"
Again, what?
That is not what the Bible says.
And that's not how life works.
Not for that preacher either.
So what do we do with the uncertainty of the future?
Instead of focusing on things and
speculating about things that we can't see,
we need to look at the things that we can see.
And the things we can see,
is what God says in his Word.
God says this in Jeremiah, chapter 29, verse 11.
He says,
Notice that God doesn't say here,
"You know the plans" or "you control them."
He says, "I know the plans, I control them."
And so while we may not be able to see the specifics of the future,
there is one who does.
There's one who holds our future.
The one who loved you enough to send his son
to die on the cross to take away your sin.
So that you would be in heaven with him.
He's the one that, not only sees your future,
but he controls it, to make sure you're in heaven with him one day.
Let's pray.
Jesus, lead us on, 'tll our rest is won.
And although the way be cheerless,
we will follow calm and fearless.
Guide us by your hand, to our Fatherland.
Amen.
Thanks for watching today.
We talked about how
we can't dwell on the things that we don't see.
And so what things do you see in your life
that give you hope for the future?
What helps you hold on to God's promises?
Then comment below and we'll see you tomorrow.