“What does your future look like? Have you planned out your life?” My friend and I were sitting together in a restaurant, and I had to stop and think before I answered her.
Across the road I saw a very poor, old man. He just sat there, and it was clear that he was drunk. My friend continued, “We have to think about what we want to achieve in life. Of course, our career comes first, but we have to think about our personal lives as well.” She took a sip of her cold drink. “And someday I may even have children!”
She looked at me and asked: “Don’t you have any plans? What will your life be like in 10 years’ time?”
It's in God's hands
I took a sip of my cold drink to win some time before answering. “I like the thought of looking into the future,” I said. I saw my friend smiling and wanting to know more. ‘How do I put my thoughts into words?’ I thought. ‘Will she understand me?’ I took a deep breath and said, “I do have some plans, but the main thing for me is to find out what God’s will for my life is. So I can’t give you a very clear answer to your question, but I do know that I will be happy.”
I saw the doubt in her eyes. “How can you be so sure of that?”
I answered calmly, “I believe that God will show me the right way and help me in my decisions. And whatever life brings – it's impossible to know now what life will bring – I will take it from His hands.”
She looked like she was doubting me and then asked, “But what if things go wrong?”
Simple faith in God
I looked again at the old man sitting across the street, and I started to think about other old people I knew - God-fearing, happy people, full of wisdom. “Things won’t go wrong,” I said with certainty. “If I simply believe in God, He won’t allow others to be able to point at me and say, ‘Ha, ha, look how badly it has gone for her, the one who said she trusted in God!’ No, God has all power in heaven and on earth. He’ll never disappoint anyone that trusts in Him.”
She was quiet and just looked at me. But I think she understood what I was trying to say.
I felt a thankfulness and joy while we sat there and continued talking about our lives and other things that interested us. It is a joy that I can trust in God, who will always take care of me and who I can always ask for help and advice. – It is also a joy that I was able to tell my friend about it.
I don’t know if she also wants to trust in God, but when we said goodbye to each other a little later, she gave me a big hug and said, “I’m already looking forward to seeing what your life is like in 10 years!”
When I opened my Bible that evening, I saw the verse in Jeremiah 29:11 (NCV): “‘I say this because I know what I am planning for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.’”