Five Minute Friday one-word prompt: UNKNOWN
ABCs of Living as God’s Beloved: eXceedingly great and precious promises have been given unto us (2 Peter 1:4, KJV)
I like how my pastor prays to surrender the future, calling it the “unknown bundle.”
This term helps bring me back to reality when I think about—or should I say worry about—the unknown future, because mostly, the future is unknown no matter how much my overactive mind runs with it.
Within minutes I can have a “clear” picture of a future that hasn’t happened yet and probably won’t… and it’s usually not a pleasant one.
So, that’s when I mentally and prayerfully pack my bundle.
I spread out a blanket in front of me; some days a baby-sized blanket, other days a king-sized comforter. One-by-one, I place the unknowns in the center. Finances. Work. Career. Husband. Children. Family. Retirement. Mortgage. Hopes. Dreams. Desires.
Once I’ve laid them all down, I grab one corner of the blanket along with its diagonal corner. I tie them together and do the same with the other two corners, securing my worries of the unknown.
Now, rather than hook this bundle to a stick and lug it around like a hobo, I place it at the feet of Jesus where it belongs.
At times, I go back to the bundle. I untie the corners and take out an unknown to stew over and manipulate. But, sometimes, untying the corners of the bundle slows me down. I think about what I’m doing, and, more often than I used to, I tie the corners tighter, leaving all the unknowns inside.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could wrap up the fear and burdens of the unknown future once and never have to do it again? I know I’d like that. But this is a daily choice, a moment-by-moment choice, that keeps us abiding in Christ, fully dependent on Him.
When I started, I said the future is mostly unknown because God has revealed some future events that we can trust and hope in through Christ.
Here are a few of those exceedingly great and precious promises that have been given to us:
To the one who is victorious, I will give him the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. (Revelation 3:21, NIV)
“They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:16-17)
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)