READ Psalm 37:35–40. 35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree, 36 but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found. 37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace. 38 But all sinners will be destroyed; there will be no future for the wicked. 39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. 40 The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
THERE IS A FUTURE. Living for yourself inevitably comes to nothing (verses 35–36), but for us “a future awaits” (verse 37). This doesn’t necessarily mean a prosperous life. It does mean a future of increasing joy and love in this world and infinite amounts of both in the next. We will be resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:35–58). We will not go to nothing. We will not be just a floating consciousness. We will not become part of an impersonal cosmic force. Our future is a world of love (1 Corinthians 13:12–13). We will walk, eat, converse, embrace, sing, and dance—all in degrees of joy, satisfaction, and power that we cannot now imagine. We will eat and drink with the Son of Man “forever” (Psalm 23:6).
Prayer: O Lord, the future is beyond my imagining. Yet even my small efforts to do so give me a lightheartedness and hope I can get no other way. “Till then I would thy love proclaim with every fleeting breath; and may the music of thy name refresh my soul in death.”32 Amen.