Looking Ahead
“Where did you go to, if I may ask?’ said Thorin to Gandalf as they rode along.
To look ahead,’ said he.
And what brought you back in the nick of time?’
Looking behind,’ said he.”
— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
Looking ahead is what we do. For the most part, we all like to know in advance—hoping we can do something about the things we know absolutely nothing about.
Yet.
Because it’s just not here.
I am a huge fan of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. I didn’t read the books. Had I, I am sure I would have been disappointed in the movies, as I normally am on the conversion of a book to movie. They leave out too much…important things—in my opinion.
In the story of our lives, God leaves nothing out. We participate in each word, line and punctuation of the details of our lives—as we live it. Only He knows the advance of our days. He’s been to our tomorrow and has a sovereign plan—and gives us the opportunity to put faith into action when the punctuation of our story turns to question marks.
Psalms 139:1-6 says:
O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
We are held in the promise of His Sovereignty. We will never—ever face anything that He hasn’t looked and either orchestrated or approved…FOR OUR GOOD.
What does that look like? Our good may not necessarily be desirous of us on the given day it actually happens…but, I can honestly say, after living 5 decades, it is for our good. And He is dependable.
I may believe Him for something for more than 5+ years…but when the miracle arrives, the years and tears no longer matter.
Like Gandalf, in the story of The Hobbit, He’s looking ahead. He sees your tomorrow. And you can stake the promise that when every need arises, He’s there in “the nick of time” for each of us. There is no need for us to look behind….unless of course we are counting our blessings…Then, by all means, we should look behind, count them and thank The Giver of Life.
© Angie Knight 2013. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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