MORNING MANNA        7-14-22

We are all prone to want things we would be better off without. Fortunately God sees our folly, knows what is best, and refuses to grant our request. For example, I suspect just about everyone, at some time, has wished they could see the future. Just think about all the bad things we could avoid if we knew what was around the corner. Or, think about all the money we could make through investments if we knew what the market was going to do. Some of us are thinking about how rich we would be had we known how valuable those old base-ball cards would be today.

But there are very good reasons why God doesn’t allow us to see the future. John MacDuff wrote, “There is no more gracious provision for our happiness, than what is contained in that brief saying of Scripture, ‘Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow’.” He might have been right. If we foresaw all the suffering and sorrow that we would have to face we would be miserable. Joy would take wings and fly, tears would fall, and depression would swallow us up–life would be dreadful. Not knowing the future shields us from torment and enables us to enjoy the moment.

Believe me, life is tough and you don’t really want to know what lies ahead. This will be the last day on earth for some dear souls. For others there will be dreadful disappointment and awful anguish before the sun sets tonight. Some are only minutes away from the news that tragedy has struck and their life will forever be changed. Make no mistake about it—trouble will come and life will end. It’s just a matter of time. We can thank God that the time is unknown. Until then let us carry on with joy, focus on our blessings, be faithful to our duties, and have faith that God will meet our needs as they arise. Rather than fret about what we don’t know, be thrilled that God has promised His grace to be sufficient. He cannot lie. As much as you might want to see the future it is a great blessing that you can’t. This might be a good time to think about that old song that says, “I know who holds tomorrow“– That’s good enough for me!—HDS

“I don’t know about tomorrow
I just live for day to day
I don’t borrow from the sunshine
For it’s skies may turn to grayI don’t worry o’er the future
For I know what Jesus said
And today I’ll walk beside Him
For He knows what lies aheadMany things about tomorrow
I don’t seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand”