Who know tomorrow?

"So is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)

Sure you have heard people make this statement every now and then: "Who know tomorrow?" acknowledging that anything can happen tomorrow; that the future is not in their hands. Things could very well go either way: good or bad and sour sometimes. By admitting you do not know tomorrow, you are putting a lid on your knowledge of things and thus leaving them to chance. By confessing that you do not know tomorrow you are painting a picture of a future that is bleak, that has escaped your control and one for which seemingly you can do nothing.

All the people who think this way just simply lack faith. They want to walk this life groping in the dark when God has banished darkness and has given us his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2.9) They have no excuse to think or speak this way except if they have never experienced the love of God or do not know God.

From the moment you entrust your life to God you know from deep within that you no longer can steer your ship without God at the helm. With God at the helm of our affairs, we can smile at the storm. This sentiment of not knowing in what direction our future is oriented comes from wanting to live a life all on our own, excluding God or making him a spectator. We serve a supreme God who on diverse occasions has told us what he is capable of doing for us. All we need do is to believe that “He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine...” (Ephesians 3:20)

Where have you put your trust to deny there is a God who knows where he wants to take you? Of all the six hundred thousand or more of the Children of Israel who left Egypt for the Promised Land only two of them made it. You want to know why? They did not believe in the ability of God to take them there in the first instance. And so an eleven-day journey lasted forty years. The reason why they perished on the way was attributed to their unbelief.

No sooner they had left Egypt and encountered their very first obstacle than they panicked and started denying God to the extent that they wanted to return to their old ways of slavery in Egypt. "As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord." They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" (Exodus 14:10-12)

Because they did not believe in their ability to take over the Promised Land from the hands of giants just as the word of God had declared, the Children of Israel died on the way in great numbers. Not one of those who left Egypt thinking it was an uphill task and a fake did enter it. The Bible recounts that only two of them who believed walked through the gates of the Promised Land: Those were Joshua and Caleb.

Joseph had died long ago but before his death, he had given instructions for his remains to be taken with them to the Promised Land. Such a testimony is unparalleled anywhere. Joseph did not witness the entry into the Promised Land but he had a strong faith that it will come to pass. Indeed, God had prepared for the Children of Israel a solid future which required trust and total reliance before they could enter in.

The God that we worship is not like a man who is prone to telling lies. "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil?" (Numbers 23:19) God's yes is yes, and his no is no.

As we journey through this world God has prepared many things for us from the foundation of time. We need to only prop ourselves up for the journey and believe. Only then can we walk into our blessings; blessings that will knock us off our feet. David expressed this outcome with joy when he wrote: "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." (Psalm 23:5) From the writings of Jeremiah, we hear God speaking again to us: "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." (Jeremiah 29:11) The blueprint of your life is sure, certain and true, because God himself drafted it. He led the Children of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night for their protection. They trekked through enemy territory as they paved the way of victory into the Promised Land and nothing could hinder it.

Who know tomorrow? David did and so do we. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake." (Psalm 23 2-3)

Once after a busy day our Lord Jesus invited his disciples to come with him to the other side of the lake. "Let’s go over to the other side of the lake." (Luke 8:22) They needed some rest and he himself felt the need to retire for a while away from it all. They all set out. Half way through the lake a storm threatened to upset the boat putting the lives of the disciples in danger. Whilst this happened Jesus was fast asleep, they went to wake him up shouting: "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" (verse 24) Jesus "got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm." (verse 24)

The disciples lost their composure. It is hard to believe that former sailors and fishermen could behave this way at the onset of a storm. They had not really heeded Jesus' words that they were going to the other side of the lake; how then can their boat capsize half way? Jesus will not be in a boat that would sink. So what is your problem about your tomorrow?

Just as God has planned your future so will it come to pass. God spoke to Abraham during their first encounter. "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing ..... and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (Genesis 12:2-3) God the Almighty is talking about you.