Trusting God with the Future

[This is from a talk I gave at Newman's Praise and Worship Night about trusting God when it comes to the future. Hope you enjoy!]
            I don’t know if you guys know this, but I am going to be graduating in May which is a pretty scary thought. On one hand I am very excited to start a new chapter in my life, and on the other hand I’m a little nervous about what happens next. It seems like the million dollar question for me these days is “Reanna what are you going to do after you graduate?” and if I am being honest as of right now I can confidently tell you that I have no idea, that said, I know that eventually I will be able to figure it out.

            There are several different directions my life can take after I graduate. I can stay in San Diego and attend graduate school for social work. I could move back home and try and find work. I could try and stay here and find work. I can go for a masters in theology and work as a Campus Minister. I could take a year off of school and do missionary work, basically the possibilities are endless, and so when it comes to looking at the future you could say I have a lot of options, which in many ways can be a blessing and also a curse.

Tonight I want to talk about how it feels to be graduating and what it looks like for me to work with God when it comes to looking towards the future. So raise your hand if you have heard the phrase “God has a plan for you!” okay, thank you. Now raise your hand if you ever questioned a decision you had to make because you weren’t sure if what you decided was in line with God’s plan for you? If you raised your hand, I want you to know that you aren’t alone. I feel that way too sometimes, but lately I have learned to look at things a little differently and that’s what I want to talk to you about tonight.

            You see a lot of times we have this idea that God has a plan for us and that we are supposed to live our lives to fulfill some kind of purpose in order to live out God’s will for us. I used to think that God had already written out my life story, and whatever I did in life was to fulfill the next phase of my life written out in God’s book. I felt like whatever I did in life was predestined for me to do from the very beginning. Like coming to school here at SDSU, I used to think that it was God’s plan for me all along to attend state, but now I’m not so sure. You see, I don’t believe that God has this magical formula for how we are supposed to live our lives, there isn’t a timeline for how we are supposed to live or a map that we are supposed to follow which shows us which direction to turn to in life. I’m learning that we don’t have to worry about what comes next, we don’t have to worry that a decision we make regarding our future will wreck God’s plan for us or place us off course. Instead I am learning that ultimately when it comes to thinking about the future we don’t have to focus on God’s plan, but more importantly we should focus on our relationship with God.

            I’ve realized that living life isn’t about following the plans that God has for us; rather it’s about taking God with you to wherever life take’s us or finding God in every destination that life take’s us. For example, I used to think that I was predestined to attend SDSU and it was a part of God’s plan for me. The reason being is that it was here at Newman that my faith really became alive and it was here that I felt God’s call to discipleship and entered into a deeper relationship with Christ, but the more I think about it the more I realize that this isn’t necessarily true. The truth is I believe that God would have called me and helped me to discover my faith even if I didn’t decide to go to State. I believe that God would have met me and called me in any circumstance. If I chose to go to a different school, I believe that God would have met me there and I would have been called to be a disciple no matter where I ended up in life.

            I believe that we are not destined to go in one direction in life or another, but rather God gives us the freedom to live out our lives and follow any direction that life takes us. The important thing is to focus not on where you end up in life, but rather WHO is going to be with you when you get there? Will it be God? So when it comes to looking at my options about the future, I’ve realized that I don’t have to worry about choosing the wrong direction. Instead I need to work with God to choose a direction in life where I can live out my faith and trust that God will be with me no matter where life takes me.

            Right now I’m working on making plans with God rather than following the so called plans that God has for my life. This starts with being open with God and sharing my true desires and dreams that I hold in my heart, all the while trusting that God will meet me where I am in the midst of all those dreams and desires. For the longest time I worried that the hopes and desires I had for myself would not match up with God’s plans for my life. I was always too scared to ask God for help with attaining the desires I hold so dear, because I never felt I had a right to even ask. I thought that by asking for something it meant that I didn’t appreciate the life and the blessings God had already given me.

            For so long I ignored my own desire and dream to one day be a wife and have kids. I used to tell myself, that if God didn’t want to me to be wife and have kids that would be enough. I never wanted to pray and ask God for these things, because I was afraid that I would be asking God for too much. In a lot of ways I felt like I had to accept that being a wife and mom might not be in the cards for me; because it just didn’t make sense. I never felt like I was pretty enough, or good enough to find someone who could love me for me and want to share their life with me. I would look at my friends and have no doubts that they would find that perfect guy, but when it came to me I wasn’t so sure. I was never open to God about these desires, because I never wanted to admit that I felt this way, and I simply accepted that I would most likely never get married. It was that whole idea of if you accept the worse, then you won’t be let down or disappointed, and if you end up out on top, then you will be happy regardless.

            But, the more I grow as a person and work on my relationship with God the more I know that I do not have to think this way. I have realized that I am good enough and I am loved by the One who loves us all, so I have no reason to be afraid or feel unworthy.  What I am working on right now is not only being open with God about my desires, but also not being afraid to boldly ask God for the desires and hopes that I hold in my heart.

The bible is full of so many people who were not afraid to boldly ask God for help with what many considered to be impossible. Abraham was already of old age and had a wife, Sarah who was considered barren but he still asked God for a son. He asked and asked God for a son for years, and when Abraham was 100 years old his son Isaac was born. The Gospels are full of people who asked Jesus to perform miracles. There was the blind beggar who asked Jesus to see, or the hemorrhaging woman who sought out Jesus for healing, and a paralytic whose friends lowered him down through a roof so that Jesus could help him walk. The bible is full of stories much like those in which God performed the impossible all because people asked boldly for God’s intervention.

            At the same time, God is not stingy when it comes giving us the very desires and hopes that we want. He gives us much more than we ever asked for. Abraham asked God for a son, but the Lord gave him much more than that the Lord gave Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars. When God gives us life we are given it abundantly. Jesus tells us in John 10:10b “I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly” so rest assured that our God is generous and will be generous in answering our prayers.

            Knowing this and seeing how unafraid these people were to ask God for these things shows me that I too can ask God boldly for the desires and dreams I have in my life. I can ask God for a husband and kids, and I can dream big dreams with God when it comes to looking at the future. Looking at my options after I graduate, I’ve realized that I don’t need to play it safe. I can aspire for great things and aim for the moon and the stars like Abraham if I wanted to, and if I never get there that’s ok. You see where you end up in life is not important, but what’s important is who you have at your side. I have no reason to fear the future because I have faith that God will be with me wherever I go in life. Deuteronomy 31:8 says “It is the LORD who goes before you; he will be with you and never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed.” Knowing I have God on my side is all I need when it comes to looking towards the future.

            When it comes to what happens next, nothing is for certain. I know that life is full of ups and downs, and it is possible that I can choose a direction to go in life that may not be what was best for me, but in the end with God on my side I know I will be just fine. So looking at life after graduation I’ve realized that I have no reason to fear, I simply have to trust in God and have faith that He will be with no matter where life takes me. It’s possible that the dreams and the desires we hold in our hearts, will not come true. Sometimes, the things we ask God for might not make us happy or be in our best interests, but never the less we must trust in God and realize that no matter where life takes us He is at our side. God always has our best interests at heart and often uses situations in our lives to help us grow and be fruitful. Often times planning for the future and working with God can be stressful, but that stress shouldn’t stop us from living out our lives and trying to move forward. Even through times of stress and uncertainty, we can rest assured that our God is faithful and will never fail us or abandon us, so we have no reason to fear or grow weary.

            If you take away anything from tonight, I want you take away the idea that you don’t have to worry about choosing a direction in life that might not coincide with God’s so called plan for your life. Instead it is more important to work with God in order to plan for the future, because we will get nowhere if we try it on our own. Mark 10:27 says “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God, all things are possible for God.” Tonight, I challenge you to trust in God, and learn to let go and be honest about the dreams and desires that you have in your life, be comforted by the fact that God wants to meet you in the midst of all those dreams and desires and work with you to make those dreams a reality. Remember that all things are possible for God, so even if what you are asking feels like it is too much; know that nothing is too much for God to handle. In John 14:14 Jesus tells us “If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.” So don’t be afraid of the desires and hopes that you hold in your heart, chances are that they too are the desires and hopes that God gave to you. If this is true then ask God boldly for those things and He might just give you what you have been hoping for.