I’ve started watching the new ABC show FlashForward.
I’m still reserving judgement on how good the show is. It seems OK so far thus far but I can see that, beneath the surface, it has the capacity to go downhill very quickly.
However good or bad the show is though, it has been teaching me something about my prayers.
The basic premise of the show is this: at exactly the same moment, the entire human population of the planet all black out for 137 seconds. During their blackouts, each person sees a vision of their future – and all of them see what they’ll be doing on April 29th 2010 at 5am (UTC). Much of the show is given over to investigating what people will do with this knowledge of their future.
FlashForward postures that there are, essentially, three ways of acting when you know what your future will hold:
- Do your best to make that future come about
- Try to ‘change’ your future
- Lie about what your future holds to change your present situation
The difficulty the characters in the show have though is that nobody knows how the future they saw is destined to come about so they don’t know what they need to do to make it happen or to stop it from happening.
This made me think about something I pray fairly often, which goes like this:
Please, God, let me see just a little of what you have planned for me. Why is this happening? Please just give me a little glimpse of where you’re taking me, how you’re going to work what I’m going through now for good in the future.
You may not pray prayers like that, but I don’t think I’m completely alone in praying that way. From conversations I’ve had with people in the past, I know quite a few people who would like to know what their future holds.
What good is knowing the future though, if we don’t know how to get there? What use is knowing where we are going to end up if we don’t know what steps are required to bring us to that point?
There’s also the concepts of growth, development in increased maturity to take into consideration. What I’m prepared to do in ten years time after I have grown, developed and matured in my faith may be vastly different from what I’m prepared to do now. What I will be doing in the future might scare me so much if I knew it now that I might actually fight against it.
I am so glad that we have a great, big God who DOES know the future and knows how we will get there. I’m also glad that FlashForward is teaching me something more about trusting him to guide me one step at a time.
I don’t need to know what will happen a year from now or even ten years from now, I just need to trust him to guide me in the next step I take… and the one after that… and the one after that…
To read more posts about TRUST in this blog carnival, visit bridgetchumbley.com
Peter, a year from now you will probably be on twitter like the rest of us… 🙂 Nice post, and thank you for your blog ministry.
He is on Twitter! Don't let him lie to you!
Great post, Peter! My spiritually immature mind could not possibly understand the intricacies of God's future plans. My lack of foreknowledge spurs me to lean into Him, to trust in His sovereignty and His word. Great post!
Excellent post. Thanks for sharing it.
I know I am sometimes tempted by the thought of knowing the future (horoscopes, palm reading, etc) but then I try to remember that God forbade it for a reason, and that reason is to somehow protect me, not Himself.
"I don’t need to know what will happen a year from now or even ten years from now, I just need to trust him to guide me in the next step I take… and the one after that… and the one after that…"
Reminds me of that old song One Day at a Time.
Good thoughts on prayer Peter. I haven't started watching FlashForward yet, but it sounds interesting.
I am constantly amazed at what God has allowed me to do from one day to the next. Never did I ever think I would ever be a painter/muralist, let alone get paid for it, or be able to sing in front of people – that was a total God thing. This new adventure? Sheesh! Knock me over with a feather! I simply trust that God knows what He's doing, but I certainly don't sometimes! That show sounds sort of cool…Great post, Peter.
I've never been one for surprises, even good surprises, so I often ask God for "hints" as well. I need to more intentionally put my trust in Him every day, and not be a bit concerned that where He'll take me is exactly where He wants me to be. I loved this post (except that show sounds like it would freak me out).
I struggle with wanting to know what the future holds. That and trusting my finances are the two things God and I duke out over most times. But I know He won't back down because that's how faith and trust are developed properly…in the moving forward not knowing what will happen next.
I loved this post Peter!! Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
I know I typed the wrong name… Peter can you save me? Sorry!
You are so right. I believe God does give us glimpses of the future even if they are small or in the form of dreams He put in our hearts. Whenever I have tried to make anything happen, it doesn’t end well. We have to trust and know that He is watching over His word to fulfill it. Like it or not, that has to be enough for me!
Thanks Peter.
"I don't need to know what will happen a year from now or even ten years from now, I just need to trust him to guide me in the next step I take& and the one after that& and the one after that .." AMEN!! AMEN!!
BTW I think Flash Forward rocks! 🙂
One of the advantages of being too busy is all the worry one is forced to release. I used to be obsessive about the future. I can still head down that road if I choose to let it tempt me. Some days I » way ahead and get stuck moping for Heaven.
But any more, it seem best to simply ask the Lord (as Kevin said), "What next." It's usually plenty to occupy a person.
I stopped in from the blog carnival…loved your post today. I've definitely been known to pray a prayer like yours in my lifetime. As I've gotten older it has become easier to look back at all God has done in my life, often in very unexpected ways, and feel hopeful for the future instead of anxious. Worry used to be my middle name. Thanks for this today.
I always thought I wanted to know my future so that I could stop worrying about it. Somewhere along the way I realized that if something horrible looms out there, I’d rather be oblivious until I get there. I’ll just trust that it will all work out in the end.
Good post!
Amen to THAT, Rebecca
We’ve just started watching this show on our very full DVR. I too am reserving my opinion until I see more.
I’m constantly wanting to know what the future holds, my impatience and anxiety are always trying to get the better of me. Thanks for this great post & reminder, Jason. *** Editor’s note – The name there should be Peter, not Jason, but I don’t mind the compliment of getting confused with Jason!***
Thanks! I've read so many posts today… but I feel like a loser! I knew it was your post, but my fingers were faster than my brain (not surprising)!
Hmmm, I thought I commented on ur post. I was really busy when I was reading the earlier posts so they got even fewer comments than the later ones.
As usual you raise excellent points in a thought provoking way. I do pray for some idea of what the future holds, if for no other reason than I believe that we should have goals. I would like to have God inform me of what my goals should be. Just a thought.
Ah yes… it of course all depends on what your definition of knowing the future is.
God saying "I want you to become a missionary to Antarctica" is, I guess knowing a little of the future, but then at the same time it's not.
I have more than one example of how in my life God has given clear direction for us to do something only for us to find that was not the ultimate goal, it was just a way to get us walking in a certain direction without actually showing us what the future held.
Good point to raise, Nick.
I'm with you on FlashForward. It's such an interesting premise, and I've always thought that if you saw the future, it's going to happen anyway. It's already in motion because the future you saw is technically the future after you saw it. It's cyclical.
I wouldn't want to know the future either. I think it would drive us all crazy.
This was a great post.
good post…now pass the popcorn.