There’s an old Beatles song that goes something like this: “Yesterday- all my troubles seemed so far away, now it seems as though they’re here to stay, oh I believe in yesterday.” It’s a brilliant pop song, one sure to get you into a melancholy mood.
It’s a real temptation to look back on times when you had more energy, more youth, more opportunity, more simplicity, and say, “Oh, how I long for yesterday.” Although I believe a wise person learns from his past, I choose to believe not in yesterday, but tomorrow. You know, “The sun will come out tomorrow, betcha bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be sun!” Not quite as brooding or poetic, but a lot more hopeful. But then, which is more realistic?
Perhaps you’ve heard me say before, “For the person who places his faith and trust in Jesus Christ, the best is always yet to come!” I really believe that. Even if you were to be martyred tomorrow, that statement would still ring true. For every Bible believing Christian, Heaven awaits. Heaven. No pain, no death, no sickness, no disappointment, no broken promises, no unmet expectations, no red tape, and no taxes! Heaven. But do we have to wait that long?
Let me share with you a verse that has carried me for many many years. “’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
In times of sickness, failure, disappointment or pain; in times when we feel stuck on some meaningless hamster wheel, when long cherished dreams look as though they will never come true, this verse pierces like a gleaming ray of hope through storm clouds of despair. “For I know the plans I have for you … plans to prosper you.” Stop and think about that for moment. God wants to prosper you!
As a youth, I ran away from God. In my heart, I knew that the last person I wanted to trust with my life was God, simply because I thought God was no fun! But what is God’s purpose in my life? It’s to prosper me and not to harm me, to give me hope and a future. Do I believe this? Do I receive this? Do I align my life with Christ in order to enjoy God’s wonderful plans for my life, or do I stubbornly insist upon my own agenda and timing?
If I look only at my current circumstances, I might be tempted to succumb to depression and frustration. If I look back on the golden days of youthful vigor and health, I might think that my glory days are a thing of the past. But if I look at God’s word and His loving promises to me, then and only then, I become sure that God is going to make my tomorrows brighter than my yesterdays. Do I believe in yesterday? I’d rather believe in tomorrow.
Looking around, we have to accept the fact that not many people know this prosperous,, hopeful, and wonderful life God promises. Why not? Well, let’s look at the next couple of verses: “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:12-13.
For those of us who are familiar with the first verse, we often fail to read the second part. In other words, we ignore the fine print. Although God has a great destiny for each of us, we can easily miss it. In fact, He implies that we will miss it unless we find it by seeking hard after Him.
What do we seek hard after? Money? Friends? Hobbies? Status? Imagine standing at the pearly gates having to give God an account of how we spent our lives. Would He say, “Well done good and faithful servant, I’m so proud of you? You really took a hold of those wonderful plans I had for you and did such great things while you were on Earth!” Or would we have spent our lives watching countless hours of football on TV, maybe gossiping with friends, or perhaps putting really great vacation photos on our Facebook accounts? You know, even a BMW can’t make it to Heaven, not even if you Google Map the directions.
As for me, I want to seek hard after God, realize His destiny for my life, and carpe the diem out of it! Remember, as one preacher put it, “God is not just the Way Maker, He is the Way.” Is He your Way too? Let’s go together.