You fall asleep one night dreaming about your life and your future. Try to imagine what things will look like for you in 5 years…10 years…even 15 years. What are some of the changes you think you’ll experience? What do you think you’ll end up doing with your life? What are some of the struggles you anticipate facing in order to accomplish your goals?
Think about some of the people you allow to speak into your life. What are they saying to you about your future? Think about some of your friends. What do they see you doing in the future? On what do they base their opinions? Do you value some of their opinions over others? Why do you think that is?
As you think about some of the teachers you like the best—those who have had a significant influence on your life—what do you think they would encourage you to pursue with your future? Out of all of the teachers who’ve had a significant influence on your life, whose opinion do you value the most? Why?
Think about the members of your family, not only your parents and your siblings (if you have them), but your extended family, too. What are your grandparents encouraging you to pursue with your life? What does that mean to you? Do you have other family members (aunts, uncles, etc.) who you could see pushing you in the right direction? Why do you think they have that kind of influence in your life?
Now think about yourself for a minute. What do you want to do with your life? What unique gifts, talents, or abilities do you have that you would like to use in the future? What’s your heart telling you to do? And if you don’t sense it telling you anything, why do you think that is?
Finally, think about what God wants you to do with your life. What do you think God would say about all of the advice you’ve been given? God’s the one who created you and designed you for a unique purpose in this world. Do you think it would be a good idea to ask God about what he sees in your future and listen to the answers? And don’t forget, when it comes to the future, God’s the only one who’s already there.
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Nobody knows what the future will bring. No one can predict the future. So we have to walk by faith. There’s no sense worrying about the future or being afraid of what it may bring, either. The Bible talks a lot about the future and how we should relate to it as a follower of Christ.
Take a few minutes to “chew on” the following Scripture verses, allowing God’s Spirit to speak to you.
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
“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.”