The F Word... The Future

Hello friends!

First off, I should apologize that my blogging has been a bit lacking. This week has been one of schoolwork, schoolwork, and more schoolwork... with the occasional sun set on the beach thrown in the mix! (The picture on the left is taken from our favorite hill to watch the sun set. It's breathtaking to see!)

This week has included another event- planning our Spring semester classes in preparation for ACU registration. I'm going to be frank- I had been thoroughly deceived for eighteen years. Before going to college, the idea of making my own schedule, deciding on class times, picking my classes, etc. sounded so... exciting. I imagined it going something like this: "Well, I will sleep until noon every day (because of course I can opt out of morning classes), I will take classes like horseback riding and the history of cartoons (because obviously I get to pick my own classes), and I will take classes with my best friends (because of course their schedules will line up blissfully with mine)." Wow, was I silly or what? lol.

After planning my own schedule, I would chose other words to describe the experience. Stressful maybe? Confusing? Complicated? Let's be honest, I don't even know what I'm going to be doing tomorrow, how am I supposed to plan my classes for next JANUARY?! Of course all of this planning leads to hundreds of other questions. Will I graduate on time if I don't take this class now? Am I taking the right classes? Is this teacher hard? Blah blah blah. Class registration has a sneaky way of making me fret because it includes the dreaded F word... get your mind out of the gutter I'm talking about the Future. Thinking about my future, whether it be classes or deeper questions, can trouble all of us. The future is unclear often, and as humans we worry.

This morning, I was reflecting on this complicated process of "planning my future," whether it's class registration or deeper areas of life, and God really spoke to me. He's always got a wonderful way of doing that doesn't He?

Isaiah 42:16 says "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them."
I don't think I've ever been hit by the full meaning of this verse until recently. As followers, God has PROMISED to lead us in every area of our lives! How incredible is that!

Tozer in his book Knowledge of the Holy (quite possibly the most eloquent, beautiful, insightful book on God's character, in my opinion) puts it profoundly. "With the goodness of God to desire our highest welfare, the wisdom of God to plan it, and the power of God to achieve it, what do we lack? Surely we are the most favored of all creatures."

So whether it's the uncertainty that comes with registering for classes next semester or much larger issues about the future, God will lead us through it all. What a relief that we can rest in Him and His plans for us! Because of His love and infinite wisdom, we can look to the future with hope, excitement, and joy, rather than dread or fear. We truly are "the most favored of all creatures," and praise be to Him for his faithfulness, both now and in our future paths!