Milk and Honey Magazine article on trusting God with your future after college graduation. The Bible is a roadmap on how to trust Jesus with your tomorrow, sweet girl!

Your Future Awaits

Victoria Freiberg

05/21/18

What do you do when life isn’t going as planned? When the future is unsure, and you don’t know what is going to happen?

I’m a twenty-year-old college student who has absolutely no idea what I am going to do with my life. My future is filled with a hundred different paths that stretch out before me, and I don’t know which one to take. Which path is plausible? Which is good? And most importantly, which one is God-approved?

Should I chase after my dream of being a writer or apply to graduate school? Should I lead that bible study next year or pursue that job? And what about the uncertainties that are the most daunting, like what trials lie before me?

As life goes on, I feel more and more like I am aimlessly wandering, searching for the right path to follow, but unable to find it.

I guess in light of all these fearful emotions and overwhelming questions of the future, it is pretty fitting that God has recently placed Jeremiah 29:11 on my heart. It goes like this, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Now, I am not a theological scholar, and I do not feel equipped or prepared to give you an in-depth interpretation on this verse that takes into account its context and historical relevance. However, I know that this theme of God caring for us now and in the future is one of the great motifs of Scripture.

Take a moment and flip in your Bible to Joshua 1:9 that says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Or what about Psalm 139 that says before you were even born God wrote out every day of your life.

And let’s not forget Romans 8 that says nothing can separate you from the love of God, not “things present nor things to come.” Meaning not even the future, whatever it may bring, can separate you from God’s love.

It’s important to remember that ultimately you have no control over your future. No matter how hard you work or how much you prepare, things have the potential to still not go as planned. Not saying you shouldn’t work hard, prepare well, and pursue what you feel called to do, but just know that in the end only God has control over what will actually happen.

You might not understand His plan for you, and that’s okay. God speaks in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heaven are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” I don’t know about you, but I would definitely prefer the all-powerful, all-loving, all-knowing God of the universe to be in control of my future rather than little old me.

So, what do you do now? Well let’s take the advice of Romans 12:1 which says, “…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God…” Give your present life and your future plans to God. Give yourself to God, trusting He will work all things to your good.

Know that even if your future does not turn out as you planned, God is still in control. He will not let you be shaken. He knows your needs, and He will meet them (Luke 12:22-34).

He knows your desires, and He will satisfy them according to His will (Psalm 37:4). Seek God first, finding the peace that comes with the knowledge that God is going to take care of you. Through this peace, be the godly woman of Proverbs 31 who “laughs without fear of what may come.”

Even in the moments when you feel like you are aimlessly wandering, searching for the right path, but unable to find it, trust that you are not aimless. You are aiming for heaven, and everything before that is just preparing you for this future hope of perfection.

Keep your aim in mind, and push forward, knowing Who is truly in control of your future. Knowing Who is the true director of your plans.