Shaping The Future

Keep this forever in the . . . heart of Your people . . . and give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes.

1 Chronicles 29:18–19

A retired French lawyer struck a deal with a ninety-year-old widow. For a payment of $500 per month to her until she died, he bought the rights to take over the lease on her fashionable apartment. At her age, it looked like a shrewd investment. In 1995, thirty years and $180,000 later, he was still paying—when she turned 120!

The future rarely turns out the way we think it will, so our best efforts to predict it ought to be held lightly. But there is one perspective on the future that is a sure thing: God’s perspective.

Consider King David, for example. The days of his kingship over Israel were coming to a close. The nation was preparing to build a great temple for God, and Solomon, David’s young son, was ascending to the throne. Instead of predicting or worrying about the future, David did the right thing: he prayed about it. He prayed for the people and he prayed for his son, that God would bless them and keep them faithful.

Shape your future, and your family’s future, by committing everything to God in prayer. The only future that is a sure thing is the one to which God has said yes.