The end from the beginning
Time only moves forward. You can’t go back. You can’t see ahead. The future isn’t in your hands - forget that, and reality will remind you.
That uneasy feeling - when you wake up in the middle of the night and realise time is slipping away faster than you can hold onto it. Whether its because you aren’t where you wanted to be by now, or because you don’t want to lose what you have.
That uneasiness with time slipping by is not an indication of failure. Its a side-effect of being human.
You were told the future was yours to create. That you could be anything, do anything, and do it your way.
The messages you were sold by social media and Hollywood executives - that you could craft your ideal life - these stories shape us.
And even if you’ve reached some of your goals, they’re already slipping through your fingers, into the past. Whether it’s a particular stage of life, or your youthfulness, or good looks, they’re all fading. We can’t hold on to them, no matter how hard we try.
You can’t write your own future. Not really.
And the truth is - you were never meant to.
I’m not going to to write a fluffy, sentimental reassurance to ease the aches of existential dread. Reality is potent.
The truth is there is a future—but it’s not coming from you.
“I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’”
(Isaiah 46:10)
There’s already a future in motion. One you didn’t choose. One you can’t control. It’s already happening, whether you accept it or not.
Its coming at us fast.
And recognising that God is God, and we are not, is a surprisingly fresh perspective on reality and time. In sharp contrast with the white-knuckled, anxious delusion of self-determination - humbly surrendering to what God is already doing is a fresh breeze. Because he’s God, he doesn’t have an ounce of panic at the years slipping away. He doesn’t cling sentimentally to the past like we do. Everything is happening at exactly the right time and pace.
God moves the timeline on and brings the future constantly towards us, like the unrelenting tide. Sometimes quicker than we’d like, sometimes slower. Either way, He’s not waiting for our permission; it’s happening anyway.
Submitting to this reality is uncomfortable at first.
But then - it’s freeing.
To let go of control. To accept that all we have is the day in front of us - that’s all we’re meant to handle at a time. Light and momentary.
And here’s the spectacular thing.
Right now, in this moment, you are alive. Of the billions who have lived and died, you are one of the ones whose turn it is now.
What a privilege. Your turn to meet today head-on. Your turn to make something good out of what you’ve been given. Your turn to invest some good into the future.
And at the end, we’ll each give an account to God for how we used the time we were given.
Born for the Future
And what about the rock-solid future that’s coming?
The future, won by Christ, woven together from everything that has happened and will happen, is coming at us at lightning speed.
And it belongs to those who’ve been born again - born to a hope that’s stronger than death. Born for the future.
Yes! Christ conquered death so I don’t have to be afraid anymore. My future and rest is in God alone