But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day [is] its own trouble.
[Matthew 6:33-34 NKJV]
In life we have a lot of choices. Every day we are faced with decisions that will determine what happens next for us. Every action has an outcome. God knows our comings and our goings. He knows the choices we are going to make and how those choices will turn out. He knows what will happen throughout the day. We, however do not know the outcome of anything other than eternal life.
God did not give us the ability to know what is going to happen on a daily basis. However, He did give us the ability to know what will happen in our eternal life based on one decision – whether to believe, or not to believe, in and follow Christ. Thus, for the eternal we have two choices, life with God or life without God.
Robert Burns wrote a famous poem entitled “To a Mouse.” In this poem he wrote, “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men, Gang aft agley,…”. You may be wondering, what does that mean? Old English isn’t the easiest to translate. Basically, it means, “The best laid schemes of mice and men, Go often awry,…”. [poem translation] In other words, man can make plans, but, at the end of the day, often our plans do not go as we had hoped.
God tells us that we are not to worry about tomorrow. [Philippians 4:6] He tells us that it is not our role to be anxious, as He does not give us fear, but rather He gives us power, love, and sound mind. [2 Timothy 1:7] He also tells us that He sits in heaven laughing at the plans of man, especially evil man. [Psalms 2:4] So, why do we even try to make plans for our lives? Why do we try and determine the outcome of each day?
We plan so we can prepare for what is coming, even if we don’t know exactly what is coming and when. For example, we plan to go to our jobs each day so we can earn money so we can put food on the table, a roof over our heads, and prepare for retirement by saving. We plan our meals so we know what to purchase from the market so we can make those meals. Everything we plan for is with the hope of a specific outcome. However, God can, and often does, change our plans. That’s why it is so important to include Him in every decision we make. As when He allows outcomes to be different than what we anticipated we need Him to guide us through.
We pray for wisdom and guidance. We know God gives us wisdom when we ask. We know He cares for us. Including Him in our decisions gives us a stronger foundation. The nation of Israel was told by God that all they had to do was seek Him. He wanted to be included. He knew the outcome He wanted to give them. He wanted them to prosper.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
[Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV]
God wants our outcome to be amazing. He wants us to have a life, and eternal life, filled with Him and all He desires to give us.
Are you including God in your daily life and decisions? Have you asked Christ to be in your life? Do you know what your eternal outcome will be? We may not know the outcomes of every earthly decision, but we have the assurance of an amazing eternal life outcome. All we have to do is choose Christ.
All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
[Isaiah 53:6 NKJV]
Prayer Day 97: The Enemy