The Great Unknown

I am one of those people who likes to be prepared.  If I'm traveling somewhere new, I review the map-multiple times. If I am packing for a trip, I pack for every possible scenario-rain, shine, heat, cold, snow, etc. If I'm going to an event, I check the itinerary and form a plan to see everything possible in the most efficient way possible. This said, it should be no surprise that I would want to form a "plan" for my life.  And yet, life doesn't quite work this way. Life is full of unknowns.

"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

One of my favorite verses and certainly a comfort, and yet I can't help but pray, "God, let me in on this plan, I just want to KNOW what is next for me.  If I only knew what was next I could...(fill in the blank)."  I find myself praying this far too often.  I know the bible says God has my life in His hand and that He has great things planned for me, yet my humanness gets in the way and I begin to worry. I worry about making the right choices.  I worry about heartaches and failures.  I worry about loss and illness.  I worry about being the person God has designed me to be. I worry about what is next: the great unknown. 

Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds in the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you worry and add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:25-27


I believe what the bible says is true, and I know there is no reason to worry about life or my future, and yet, I still want to know what is next.  I want to know the unknown. 

A song I heard on the radio by Moriah Peters caught my attention last week.  The words brought deep conviction: 

"I don't need to know what's next, You'll be with me every step. Through it all, through it all I can see You carry me." 

These words put a big dent in my "need" to know the unknown.  They are such a strong reminder of what God has been trying to tell me all along, "I've got this, you don't need to know the future. That is My job, not yours. Don't worry about what you don't know.  Just trust Me, and I will lead you where I want you to be, and it will be greater than you could ever imagine."

I can't even fathom God's amazing faithfulness or His wonderful plans for my life, but I do know He has never failed me.  He is always with me and gives me peace that I can't even begin to understand. Even in my struggles, I am thankful for all these reminders of God's faithfulness to me. 

God, thank You for all the times You have supported me, comforted me. Through the ups and downs You have ALWAYS been there.  I trust you with my future, and I don't need to know what is next because YOU are already there.  Forgive me for my impatience and, at times, lack of faith. Thank You, Father for NEVER failing me and for always loving me. Amen.