Next

It is the question dreaded by all seniors in high school and seniors in college—"What will you do next? What does the future hold?" Once again, this daunting question is dogging my steps. What is after Honduras?

I don't know.

I know this—to love Jesus and to love and serve the people he loves. What does that look like? I don't know. I have repeatedly reminded God about the timeline….and He reminds me that He is Almighty, that He knows the timeline better than I do, that He knows all things, has all the pieces of the puzzle, and that He is all-loving and all-good. So trust.

The Bible is full of precedents where God asked people to leave first, and then he showed them where to go, step by step. Abraham, for example—"Go, leave everything, and then I'll show you" (Gen. 12). Or the widow in Zarephath who FIRST made a loaf of bread for Elijah with her very, very last flour and oil, before she saw that she would have a continuous supply. "But times have changed, Lord!" I say. "Today there are timelines and paperwork and processes." He replies, "But I have not changed. And my thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways."

I choose to believe He is Almighty and Good. He is my Father. He loves me—the King who holds all things in His Hands loves me, and will fulfill his purposes for me (Ps. 138:8).

I have been thinking a lot about Ps. 131:

My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

I like the picture of the weaned child—a nursing child expects something from her mother, demands something. But a weaned child knows her mother can provide, trusts her mother, but does not expect anything from her. She only wants to be near her mother, to be cradled in her lap. My God is good—He knows all the great matters and all the pieces of the puzzle. He has a plan for the future, and He is WORKING right NOW. I will follow my Abba. As much as I want to, I don't need to know what is next—I know Him who is next to me.

Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. Is. 64:4