Focus on Your Future & God’s Great Plans – Life Is a Journey
Today we revisit a message from 2021 that continues to offer encouragement, instruction, and spiritual growth.
Are you stuck on failures? This message helps us focus on what’s important – God’s future for us. Learn how to overcome your internal battles and focus on the future.
Focus on what’s important: your future. (Spoiler alert: God’s got amazing plans for you!)
Do you focus on past failures?
Two weeks ago, we focused on the good and learned to steer clear of negative thinking and the lies that seem to bombard us every day. We learned to recognize wrong turns, replace unhealthy thoughts with the truth of God, and that we need accountability. Last week, we focused on Jesus and not to become distracted. We learned that fear occurs when we take our eyes off of Jesus, focusing on distractions invites problems, and doubts arise when we lose focus of Christ.
We must never allow distractions or doubt to choke out our faith. Rather, we should look to Jesus and focus on the Lord.
Today, we are going to focus on our future and not our past. We are to trust God regarding our future and won’t lean on our understanding but look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
God is all-knowing, all-powerful and ever-present. God knows the future and he has a plan for your life, which is a million times better than any plan you may have.
His plan is perfect.
His timing is perfect.
His motive and heart of love is for your good.
We must refuse to dwell on failure and focus on the future.
Walt Disney was fired from a job because he was told that he lacked imagination. If he had focused on what he was told, there would be no Disney Corporation or theme parks.
Steven King’s manuscript was rejected by 30 publishers, however the 31st publisher said yes and now he has written and published many books.
JK Rowling’s manuscript was rejected by 12 publishers and the 13th said yes. The publisher decided to take a chance and the rest is history.
Colonel Sanders was 62 years old and with $105 dollars tried to start a fried chicken franchise with his recipe. After 1,009 rejections he worked a deal with a restaurant in Utah. The Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise was born.
Steve Jobs and Apple started small and now Apple iPhones and computers are everywhere and they have grown and expanded. But he had his problems as well.
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. He is quoted for saying “I haven’t failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”
What if each of these people had stopped moving forward after the first, second, or tenth time they failed?
Let me suggest, do not focus on past failures. Focus on the future. Chose to move forward.
Focus on the future you have in Christ.
Focus on your relationship with Christ.
Focus on the plans that God has for your life.
Do not get weighed down with negative thoughts or distractions. Do not become so focused on what you want, imagine or think your life should be, rather look to the Lord and his plan for your life (see Proverbs 19:21, 16:9, and 20:24-25).
Do you trust God with your future?
When you were young, did you know want you wanted to be when you grew up? An astronaut, a fireman, a pilot, a doctor, a chief, or something else. Did your plans change as you grew older? Maybe you were not sure what you wanted to do growing up, but something sparked your interest and you moved in that direction.
We do not always know what is best. So, try different doors in life if you are unsure of what to do. If the door is locked, don’t try to force it open. If the door is open, look inside and see if it is something that interests you.
Pray and seek God’s direction regarding what to do, and then look forward to what God has for you. Understand that some open doors might look good but may be the wrong doors to go through. Some closed doors are closed for a time, until God’s timing opens them. The key is to pray and seek God’s plan and timing. Trust in God’s plan with your future.
God has a plan for your life. It is your responsibility to give heed to God’s plan because his plan is for you to succeed and overcome the distractions and sinful desires that the enemy of your soul wants you to believe and follow.
Understand, you have a choice: don’t dwell on past failures, obstacles or negative words that others might say to you, or the lies of the enemy. Focus on the good.
Do you know that God has great plans for you?
Focus on the truth. Focus on Jesus and the future you have in Christ. God has great plans for you. Trust him.
The following verse speaks to every person:
‘“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.”’ (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV).
Here Jeremiah is writing to the Jewish captives in Babylon. God knew what was happening and he had a plan that would give them hope. God had plans for them to prosper even if they did not see it at that moment.
It is a great comfort to know that God knew them and had plans regarding their future. The Israelites were to trust God. The same is true for us today. God has not forgotten you. He knows what he is doing and is not blind regarding your future.
At the time of Jeremiah, the false prophets only pretended to know the future. The people were rebellious and did not listen to God. The prophets told of peace but God allowed 70 years of captivity. The Jews could not see how they would break free from the bondage of Babylon. Yet God had a plan and, once again, the people would listen and seek God, and he would bring them back from captivity (see Jeremiah 29:12-14).
God’s future is so much better than anything we might dream up. We need to learn to trust God with our future and seek his will and guidance.
As humans we are always trying to make plans. We try to think what is best for our lives and strive to accomplish the plans we make. Only one problem, our plans and thoughts are limited and imperfect. We need to pray and trust God. We need to stop trying to force our plans and pick up God’s plan.
3 Ways to Focus on the Future
If we are going to embrace God’s plan for our lives, we need to let go of our past and look to God Almighty regarding our future.
1. If we are to focus on our future, we need to let go of the past.
Everyone has a past but the past doesn’t need to define your future. Past mistakes should be left in the past. We should learn from past mistakes and not repeat them. We should not focus on the past and think that the past is better than what our future holds.
This idea of holding onto the past is illustrated by these verses:
‘The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”’ (Exodus 16:1-3).
The Israelites felt that it was better to live in the bondage of Egypt rather than what their future held. They viewed their present circumstance as impossible and their future as being even worse. The people could only think of what they had in the past (as awful as it was), rather than consider the future God had planned for them. The Israelites forgot the pain of bondage and only considered their satisfied stomachs.
Trusting God with your future may be a scary if it were not for your faith in Christ. So often, we forget the difficult times when we reflect on the past.
We should never live in the past because, when we do, we miss out on the future God has for us. If the Israelites had turned back to the bondage of Babylon, they would have missed all the blessings of God.
I was once told that I would make a great board member, but not a good pastor. Those words held me back for a time. If I had listened to that word, I would have never quit my secular position. I never would have taken a full-time position as an associate pastor and I would not be standing here today and preaching a message regarding trusting God and focusing on the future he has for you.
It is not easy to let go of life’s reigns for our future, but the best thing we can do is to trust God with our present and for our future. Do not allow the past to hold you back, decide every day to trust the Lord and not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path.
2. If we are going to focus on the future, we need to trust God with our present.
This means trusting God in every circumstance, even in those situations that look impossible.
Last week we saw how the disciples and Peter did what Jesus told them to do. They each experienced headwinds and became distracted by the circumstances around them. But Jesus told them not to be afraid. He stepped into the boat with the disciples and the wind and waves stopped and they arrived safely at their destination. If we are to trust God with our future, we must begin trusting God with our present.
Remember, your past is dealt with and your sins are forgiven because of faith in Christ. Jesus paid the debt of sin we could never pay. While we were still sinners, Jesus died for our sins.
You matter to God:
God had you in mind long before you were ever a glimmer in your parent’s eyes.
Jesus had you in mind on the cross.
Your future begins in the present and moves forward, not backwards.
The future God has planned for you blossomed with your decision to say yes Lord and involves yielding to the plan and will of God.
Your future involves being obedient to his plan and not demanding your own plan.
Your future involves listening to God rather than to the enemy’s lies or other voices that have no understanding of God’s plan.
How we act and what we focus upon has an effect on our lives and on the lives around us. King David’s actions illustrate this:
David trusted God, and because of David’s obedience God honored him and he became king. However, one day as king David chose to sleep with another man’s wife. The woman, Bathsheba, became pregnant. Then David tried to hide his sin and committed more sins, including murder, in an attempt to keep all his sins hidden. David was confronted and, having a heart for God, repented. God was still able to use David, but because of his sin Bathsheba’s baby died (2 Samuel 11-12).
David lost sight of God’s plan for a time. David was not focused on the present not the future when he called for Bathsheba. He was focused on himself and, as a result, lives were negatively affected. David was only focused on his selfish desires and in the present. He wasn’t focused on the future and what might happen when he sinned.
When we ignore God’s plan for our lives, we become distracted and sin. It can cause us, as well as others, to have a distorted view God. It can cause you to turn away from God.
Ignoring God’s plan for your life is never a good decision. Instead, we should give our plans over to God and let God have the reigns in our life and follow his plan. Only then will our future be all it can be. Following God’s plan is not something we are to do sometime in the future. We need to follow God’s plan in the present and everyday moving forward.
At times, following God’s plan for your life may not make a lot of sense, and yet if you look back you can see the hand of God making your future much better than if you followed your own plan.
3. If we are going to focus on the future, we need to deal with pride.
Pride gets in the way of following God’s plan.
Pride caused the Israelites to sin. The city of Ai was small compared to Jericho and the Israelite scouts that went and spied out Ai did not see the need to send the entire army to defeat the city. In their pride they thought they could defeat the city with only a few thousand men. They did not seek God and went out on their own. But they didn’t know what one of their own men, Achan, had done. Achan sinned and took for himself some of the spoils that were to be devoted to God from the defeat of Jericho. Achan’s sin was hidden until God revealed it. Because of Achan’s sin, God was not in their plans (Joshua 7:1-12).
When we go out on our own and do not seek God, we are treading on thin ice. Pride will always get in the way of following God’s plan. Overconfidence will cause us to follow our own plan rather than seek God’s plan and his way.
Focus on your future, full of God’s blessings.
If you want to succeed in your walk with Christ, you will need to focus on your future in Christ.
You will need to stop focusing on the past.
You will need to trust God with your present and your future.
You will need to be humble and not allow pride or overconfidence to rule your heart.
You will need to set your plans aside and seek God’s plan for your life
Life is a journey, focus on your future in Christ and not on your plans or past mistakes. God has plans to bless you—giving you a hope and future, far better than you know.
Your plan is only temporal at best. God’s plan, you have an eternal future with Christ in glory as you walk in faith and victory in Christ.
Remember, Jesus said he’ll prepare a place for you. Remember, he is returning for you, his bride. He is returning soon and his plan and timing are perfect. Choose today to set your life plans aside and follow his plan.Proverbs 19:2116:920:24-25Jeremiah 29:12-142 Samuel 11-12Joshua 7:1-12
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