Florida

To Own a Crystal Ball

Some people wish they knew the future so they could plan crystal ball appropriately. They think they could fix anything along the way that might interfere with their happiness. But would that really work?

What if it turned out something bad was going to happen and you had no control over it? Maybe a tornado will sweep through and destroy everything you own. How would you change that? Or worse yet, your child might become seriously ill. Some things can’t be controlled by human hands.

Also, if you saw bad news in your future, would you complain to God? That’s what the Israelites did when God told them they’d make it to the Promised Land.

Exodus 16:2 – 3 reads, In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we Moses had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” Back in Egypt they were slaves. God brought them out, showed them miracle upon miracle, yet they still didn’t believe He would take care of them.

Every time the people complained, God gave them what they asked for, whether it be bread or meat. It only satisfied them for a short while. In the end their complaints cost them what they really wanted. Freedom.

And what would your punishment be for whining? Might it affect your children? Is that a price you’re willing to take just to know what your future holds? Probably not.

God doesn’t tell us what He has planned like He did for Moses. Maybe because He knows we’ll complain also, and He just doesn’t want to hear it. Do you really want to know how long or how hard the journey will be? Imagine God letting you know you’re child will become a wonderful Christian who will turn hundreds of people to Jesus, but not until he’s in his fifties. And in order to do so, he must die and become a martyr. I believe that might be too much information for us to handle. And if we knew something tragic was going to happen, we might try to interfere with God’s plan.

We have to trust God and believe that He wants what is best for us.

futureBesides, if you knew the future, and made one small change, it could affect your family circumstances. Maybe not for the better.

And if we were to be honest with ourselves, the one thing we’d want to know the most about is money. Which stocks will perform best or when something in our portfolio might plunge so we can sell it ahead of time. Our greed, in the end, would probably get the best of us. After all, we’re only human.

It’s best to leave your future to the expert. God knows what’s best, and when the timing is perfect. And He won’t mess it up like we would.

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