How far into the future do you plan? Do you look forward to something in the distant future? Or are you only looking at later today or tomorrow? Do you plan beyond next week? What are you anticipating? What has you joyously anxious while waiting for it to happen?
Planning for the future can be difficult to do. So much of the future is unknown. Sure, we can make our plans, but we know much of it is out of our control, even if we won’t admit it. Our best laid plans often go awry. One thing or another swoops in and disrupts them.
Perhaps the longest range plans we make are weddings a year or more out, college graduation four years out, or retirement several years or decades in the future. Yet, none of these are guaranteed. Things happen. A speed bump or roadblock slows them down or causes us to draw up a new plan. Retirement can be especially difficult. Many think they have planned well only to discover they do not have near enough to retire when the time comes.
The prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of the Messiah, some eight-hundred years before Jesus would come. Based on Isaiah’s prophecy, the Israelites were looking toward His coming yet had no idea when He would. God did not provide a timeline, so Isaiah could not provide one. He did provide characteristics of the Messiah. He would have the spirit of the Lord resting on Him, be wise, understanding, knowledgeable, a counselor, powerful, in awe of God, following his will.
We, too, look forward to Jesus coming. But we look forward to His return. Much like the Israelites, we do not have a timeline. It is challenging to continue to look forward and be obedient. We can grow lax in our obedience, just as the Israelites did. Yet, it is those who continue in their obedience who will be rewarded by God. Therefore, continue in obedience to God, even though you do not know when Jesus will return.
I pray we all look forward to Jesus returning to claim His own. I pray we hold fast to our faith. I pray each one of us will remain obedient to God’s commands and reap the reward he has for us. Look forward to Jesus returning. Hold onto your faith. Obey God’s commands. Reap your reward.
Isaiah 11:1-2
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
Marty Pressey 