About this time each year prognosticators bring out their crystal balls, shine them up, and begin to pronounce their understanding of the coming misty, foggy future. They give you all the reasons their wisdom has led them to their conclusions and proudly announce, “This is what we can expect in the coming year.” They announce their conclusions in such firm terms that they often preface their prophecy with the term “obviously.” They leave you with the impression that if you think contrary to their pronouncements, you are not very wise. The problem with such declarations is they are based upon their wisdom, which is at best limited, and at worst tinged with arrogant presumption.
For example, Economist Harry S. Dent warns of a market crash "of a
lifetime" to the realm of the level of the great crash of 1929 to 1932. In
contrast, another economic soothsayer, Kristina Hooper, chief global market
strategist at Invesco, pulls out her economic crystal ball and predicts what
she calls a "bumpy landing” but eventually expects markets and the economy
to bounce upward in 2024. What is the result of all of this? Financial
advisors’ phones are ringing off the hook, their email boxes are filling, and
anxious clients pop antacids trying to process such contrasting perspectives.
Of course, in a more serious issue, crystal balls are being polished to
discern who will win the College Football Playoff, or who will be in and win
the Super Bowl. All this angst so that a fool and his money can be separated at
a sport’s betting site willing to give odds that their crystal ball is better
than yours. There are entire companies that make their livelihood by guessing
the future to make a profit. Insurance companies devise actuary tables based on
projections into the future as to a person’s longevity. Other companies insure properties speculating if
they can amass enough fees to cover the expenses associated with future natural
disasters and still make a profit.
If it appears to you that I am cynical of people trying to guess the
future, you would be right. How often we gaze into the future and presume to
know the outcome. The only One who knows and controls the future is God
Himself.
Jesus shared a story about a man who
thought that he had the wisdom to handle the future. The man in the parable
dismissed acknowledging that God had brought material blessings into his life
(Luke 12:16-21). As a result, he began to trust his own wisdom and gazed into
the crystal ball of arrogance. He then determined a course of action without
considering God’s will in the matter. His crystal ball guided him to plan to
build bigger barns to store what he had amassed. He did not consider that God
had been his source of blessing and therefore consult with God as to the future
for his life. He was very self-satisfied with his plan and went about living
his life without consulting God. He thought he was the controller of his own
destiny. Tragically, his life ended with full barns and an empty life. God
evaluated him as a fool and Jesus said, “So is the man who… is not rich toward
God.”
The oldest half-brother of Jesus, James, applied the teachings of Jesus
to his world view. In a letter he wrote to fellow believers he shares how
important it is to see life not from a crystal ball but from wisdom that God gives.
He writes in James 4:13-17 to not be arrogant about the plans we devise for our
life. He is not against wise planning. He is stressing planning that is
theocentric – focused upon what God’s wants. He said in essence, make plans but
say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” (15). To leave God
out of the plans of our life he says is to “boast in your arrogance; all such
boasting is evil” (16). We must see our future as being in God’s hands.
Additionally, we trust that God can carry out His plans in our lives. Therefore,
we develop a submissive attitude to God and yield to God in all our planning
for the future. Our supreme example of a proper view of life is seen in Jesus
Christ. As he faced the horrors of the cross and his mission to die for the sins
of the world he said, “Not my will but your will be done” (Luke 22:42). It is
not a surprise that the writer of Hebrews challenges us to be “looking to
Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right
hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews12:2). Jesus saw His Heavenly Father’s will as
the best plan for his life, yielding a perfect outcome even while facing
traumatic circumstances.
What will 2024 bring your way? Who knows? Well… God does! We don’t rely
upon the crystal ball. We rely upon something much greater. Corrie Ten Boom challenges
us, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” Such an
attitude helps us to process and progress in the uncertain days in which we
live. The late Pastor Tim Keller said, “How you experience your present is
completely shaped by what you believe your ultimate future to be.” Let your
future in 2024 be guided not by a crystal ball of uncertainty but by a confident
relationship with a gracious God.
