I Did It All By Myself With My Own Little Hammer

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” —Proverbs 27:1, NIV.

Of all the things that engage our minds about the future, planning ahead and worrying probably head the top of the list. We plan for family, for college, for vacation, for retirement, and for all points in between. Then we worry about everything we are planning for and about all the things that might screw up those plans.

Some of us like to be prepared. And preparation is reasonable and biblical. Proverbs tells us, for example, that we are to learn from the ant and work hard to be prepared for tomorrow (Proverbs 6:6-11). Worrying is the activity we are not supposed to engage in (Matthew 6:25-34) because God promised to provide for those who follow Him. To worry is a vote of lack of confidence in God.

The key word in today’s verse is “boast,” that excessive pride and self-satisfaction about our accomplishments that pushes God right out of the picture. With a nod to God, we begin to believe that all that we are and have is our due and comes to us solely on the basis of our hard work and ability. Job had the right attitude when he said of God: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” —Job 1:21, NIV. All that we are and have is God’s. And because we know that He only works in our lives for His glory and for our good, we can trust Him to give and take the things that accomplished those purposes.

As we acknowledge every day the good hand of God on our lives to give us all that we need, and remove from us all that we don’t need, we recognize the truth of the words: “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps” —Proverbs 16:9, NIV.

The future is a fickle mistress but what a comfort to know and trust its Master.