

"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 dearest friends works as a broker on the stock market.
Recently he received a letter from an individual whose name he wasn't allowed to share. Accompanying the letter was a self-addressed, stamped envelope. In part, the letter read this way: "In the enclosed envelope kindly send me information about what business conditions will be like six months from now."
My friend, after a good laugh, ended up writing back, "Dear Sir, for the price of a stamp you want to know something that many people want to know. I can tell you my company would gladly guarantee me a job for the next century and give me an unlimited supply of cash if I could accurately give an answer to your question."
"The truth is, I don't know and, lest I come off as a dim bulb, I am willing to say nobody else knows either."
My friend was pretty much right. Pretty much.
No man or woman knows what the future will be like. We don't know the future of our country; we don't know what is in store for our community, for the stock market, or the next ten minutes of our own lives.
No man knows what the future will be six years from now, six months from now, or six seconds from now.
Nobody knows -- except God, that is. Knowing what is before us, He supplies the answers as to how we should live both now and in the future. First and foremost, He says, "Trust Me!" God reminds us to "rely on Him."
Those who do so find out that nothing now or in the future can ever separate us from the love that we receive from Him through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
From a devotion originally written for "By the Way"
THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, wisely You have not allowed me to look into the future. For that reason, I must entrust it to Your wisdom. May I, by the Holy Spirit's power, put my present and future into Your hands. There, because of my Savior's suffering and sacrifice, I know I will be safe and secure. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible Readings: 1 Kings 8-9 Acts 8:1-25
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