Thursday, April 7, 2022

            God knows the future. I do not.  You do not.  But God knows what was, what is and what will be.  Coming events do not catch the Lord by surprise.  Past, present and future are all clear and visible before God.  He is above time and beyond time as we understand it.  When He was physically walking the earth, the Lord Jesus knew that the cross was coming.  Jesus said, “Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. ‘The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,’ he said. ‘He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead’” (Luke 9:21-22).  Jesus clearly saw and knew the pathway that was before Him.  The things that Jesus saw and said would come perfectly true.
            As we approach Holy Week, we want to place our assurance and trust in the One who has perfectly seen coming events and fulfilled them by His life.  There is an old maxim in understanding Bible prophecy that says coming events cast their shadows before they arrive.  That is to say, there is usually a lead-up or a heads-up before critical events arrive.  For example, God gave Israel multiple warnings about His impending judgment before the exiles took place.  God promised Abraham a son before Isaac was born.  Jesus spoke of the cross before Good Friday ever arrived.  And Jesus was spot-on in His predictions and prophecies.
            Today’s devotion is a call to trust the One who has seen the future.  Long before this devotional message was ever planned or written, the Lord knew that it was good for you to read about the importance of trusting Him with future events.  We trust Him with a doctor’s visit.  We trust Him with surgery.  We trust Him with our finances and to open or close doors as He sees fit.  Trusting God does not mean we wait until the future is clear.  Because trusting God is not about trusting an event or circumstance based on clarity or certainty as we understand it.  Our trust is in the person, character and integrity of God.  Remember, God is changeless; and even when the future looks murky or unsettled, we can still trust Him.  Most of us probably would not want to drive a car or fly in an airplane that has not been tested.  Trusting the future to yourself, the government, anyone else or anything else is a risky venture at best.  Trust the future to the Lord—your future and that of your family.  Trust all things to God. 
            Perhaps the greatest expression of trust we give to God as Holy Week approaches is our trust in Him alone for our forgiveness, pardon from sin and salvation.  He did everything that was necessary at the cross for us to be reconciled to the Father.  We never add anything to the cross or the empty tomb.  Jesus plus nothing is all that is necessary.  Jesus plus anything else is a misdirection and simply wrong.  God does not seek to confuse us or disorient us.  He bids us to trust Him.  Why?  Because God simply is.  God is God!  We all place our faith somewhere or in someone.  The Bibles calls us to trust the One who is, was and who is to come (Revelation 1:8).  If we trust anything less than the Lord, we are placing our trust in something that is finite.  It has a beginning and an end.  But God is without beginning or ending.  He has always been and will always be.  His words about the future have never been wrong. 
            Imagine having to make a huge decision in life like who to marry, whether to buy a house, taking a new job or trying an experimental treatment.  Big decisions to be sure.  But the greatest decision anyone will ever make is this...who to trust?  Who to trust with your life, past, present and future?  The only answer is the great I AM—the One who spoke the creation into existence.  Perhaps today, you trust God for the first time ever.  Perhaps, you come back after some times of wondering and struggle.  Perhaps, you hand something to the Lord that has overwhelmed you.  He welcomes all who come in trust to Him.  Have a great Thursday!  And remember you can share our worship anytime at youtube.com/FirstBaptistKannapolis.