Most everyone likes to plan for the future.

As teenagers we prepare for college. As young adults we begin to consider marriage, children, and careers. As middle-aged adults we start making our retirement plans, and as older adults we make plans for how to spend the last years of lives. We like to plan what vacations and trips we are going to take and what future projects we intend to complete around the house. It is just the way the majority of Americans are.

I guess you noticed before Halloween even arrived, stores were putting Christmas merchandise on the shelves. They were planning months in advance to be ready for the Christmas season.

To plan in advance is okay and sometimes even necessary in certain areas of life. However there are times when you realize how petty your future plans are and how insignificant all the preparation is in light of “one day” that may never actually come.

Lives can and do change in one day. Plans, dreams, and hopes for the future can all be altered and destroyed within an instant. One thing is certain; your final destination in eternity is coming. The only true, absolute hope and plan you can make for the future is to have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. This will guarantee you a future home in Heaven. This relationship gives you real hope and stability in the uncertainties of life. Making preparations to spend eternity in Heaven is the only thing you can be assured and have peace in knowing it will come to pass. Once you accept Jesus as Savior, nothing can alter these plans.

In times to come, you will face difficult days and without Jesus Christ in your life. You will be as a tiny boat out on the vast sea without a motor or even an oar. We must resolve that we have to take one day at a time. We trust the Lord for our substance and lean upon Him to direct us through this life to our eternal abode. The Bible says in Proverbs 27:1, “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”

So do we plan for a future here on this earth? Sure, but do not get so wrapped up with future events that you fail to enjoy today because none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. We are however guaranteed an eternity, either in Heaven or Hell. “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24).

Tune in to WBCU 103.5 FM Sundays at noon for the Shining Light Broadcast. I preach a 15-minute message that I pray will be a blessing to those who listen. If you have a prayer concern, comment, or question, please write to: Voice of Victory, Attn: David Burrell, PO Box 1221, Pacolet, SC 29372, message me on Facebook, or e-mail me at daveburrell@live.com.