God holds the future in His Hands...the Wayfarer 5/4/16

God holds the Future in His Hands
 5/4/16

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15King James Version (KJV)

3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

² A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

³ A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

⁴ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

⁵ A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

⁶ A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

⁷ A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

⁸ A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

⁹ What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

¹⁰ I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

¹¹ He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

¹² I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.

¹³ And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.

¹⁴ I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

¹⁵ That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

Today’s title and scripture are but a reminder of just Who is in charge of the events and conditions that so occupy the efforts of a puny creature whose efforts and exertions toward controlling those events and creations become laughable, or remorse filled with each attempt made that only amplifies the fact of Wherein that control resides.

The song, from which the title was taken was published in 1922, just a few short years after the end of “The War to end all wars”, and a few short years before the onslaught of yet another, and more deadly war than any fought before it.

It came about as a “League of Nations” was established to control the affairs of men, a league that failed and was abandoned, and before the establishment of yet another that proclaimed itself to be “The United Nations” that has proven to be anything but united, and anything but effective in its attempts to control and modify the thought processes of the various nations which comprise its membership, dividing instead of unifying those intended to be unified.

Mankind still learns nothing from his history, even forgetting that mankind learns nothing from his history.

This could easily become a cause for consternation and lamentation in a time when progressives progress, isolationists isolate, defeatists become defeated, and the ball of mud spins on toward inevitable consequence dreaded by so many who have also forgotten that what is temporary and temporal is still temporary and temporal, and that which is eternal remains eternal.

Solace is only to be found in the undeniable FACT that God remains in charge; solutions lie in His Plan, not ours; struggles to change the outcome of that Plan are futile, and that the temporal and temporary are insignificant and unimportant while the eternal soul is of utmost importance to God and each individual created by Him.

“Dread not the things that are ahead, the burdens great, the sinking sands,

The thorns that o’er the path are spread, God holds the future in His hands.

We know not what tomorrow hides, of sun or storm, of good or ill,

We only know His dear hand guides, and He will be out Father still.

His hand created earth and sky, the zephyrs and the storms that rage,

And years to come and years gone by to Him are but an open page.

Live close to Him and trust His Love assured that while on earth we roam,

What-e’re may come He bends above to guide his children safely home.

God holds the future in his hands. And ev’ry thing he understands;

On Him depend, He is your friend; He holds the future in His hands.”

God’s plan was set in motion in the beginning when He said let there be light, and will be completed when He decides to deliver the rewards promised within the scriptures given us both in warning and assurance from Genesis through Revelation.

That plan continues for the exercise of free will by each human being to accept the warning and promise given or to reject them.

Choice remains, as does the eternal consequence of that choice.

As a reminder, that choice was made clear remains clear only by way of the Savior sent to clarify both the warning and the promise, delivering the promise through his life, ministry, sacrificial crucifixion and resurrection for all who would believe…and Whose return guarantees the delivery of the consequences also of the warning when it remains unheeded through the choice of those refusing to believe.

John 3:16-17 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

¹⁷ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

The promise is eternal, not temporary, the solution is available, but only through the WAY, TRUTH, and LIFE provided by Him.

The scripture in John goes on to remind us that despite the promise, and the delivery of that promise, most will reject the proffered gift, choosing the temporary and temporal instead.

God holds the future in HIS hands, yet He allows each to choose where that future lies, and what it holds for themselves.

“Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Such a simple message brought so clearly and concisely, holding significance beyond comprehension, yet perfectly comprehendible when in possession of the facility of Who remains in control, and Who retains sole possession of that control.

2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen, and Amen
the Wayfarer