Distant Haze and a fog horn sounding

The hazy fog of the future

Oh wow, has it really been 3 ½ years since I posted?   Life gets busy, let  me just admit that.   I guess you don’t have much to say in a heartfelt way when you are incredibly stressed out or busy running from one thing to the next.   And I was.   But all that has changed now.

Retirement has slowed the pace of life down for me quite a bit and I am working on many projects that I had to discontinue during my working years.   But I think I might like to restart a few of them and maybe this is one that I will get going again.

Foggy Fear of the Future

One of the disadvantages of retirement is that you have more time to pay attention to the world around you and we are living in times that can definitely be called “scary”.   I don’t want to dwell on the negative but if I let myself, I could melt into a fearful puddle just watching the news.   If you have a tendency towards fear the way that I do, then the things going on in our society can keep your alarm bells ringing all the time.   But you know what?  I have a relationship with a God who thinks of these things.  

A Fog Horn sounds 

Some years ago, a specific bible verse began popping up everywhere in my life.   I’d pick up a book and there it would be.   Someone would send me a note or a card and there it would be.   Every study that I did referenced it, every speaker mentioned it.    It even popped up on billboards and calendars.   Wall hangings.   Notecards.   I mean EVERYWHERE.  It seemed like I just couldn’t get away from it.     It got so comical that my friends picked up on it and would laugh and tease me about it.   It was impossible to think of it as a coincidence.   Coincidence or not, I knew at the time that this verse was popping up everywhere because God was trying to get my attention.   He wanted me to really know this verse.      

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV - 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

That was at least 5 years ago.   Back then, I never figured out why God wanted me to memorize this verse, to know it so well.   But I knew it was important because he really pounded it into my head and I have often puzzled over it.

The Son breaks through the fog at last

Up until that point, I had been studying God’s Word pretty consistently and pretty frequently.     I am especially interested in eschatology and the “end times” which can be a fascinating topic.   I started looking into such things about 20 years ago and it always seemed like it was something I knew would happen soon but sometime “in the future”.   That made it fascinating and exciting.  Then about 5 years ago I started to realize that “in the future” might actually mean more “now” than I had previously grasped.   In other words, I began to see prophecy that I thought was off in the distance being fulfilled RIGHT NOW.   It scared me and I stopped wanting to know.    That seems a bit silly now considering that prophecy will continue to come to pass whether I “know about it” or not, lol.     What I didn’t realize when I became interested in bible study is that while I would find it interesting and exciting, I would also have to deal with fear related to it.

I know that God has not given us a spirit of fear and he has told us not to worry.   Knowing those things haven’t really helped me.   But then I had an epiphany!!      I just need to apply God’s personal message to me to any fear that comes up.   Jeremiah 29:11 !    God has plans for me and they are good plans.  His plans are not going to harm me and knowing that can give me hope about the future.   And it does!   Because my God is a God that can be trusted.

Yoke