The short and definite answer is “No one knows but God.”
We don’t know what minute we will breathe our last breath on earth, nor do we know when the Second Coming of Jesus will happen. We are only promised the specific moment we are experiencing at any given time.
The GOD’S WORD Translation of Matthew 24:36 puts the circumstance of the Second Coming like this: “No one knows when that day or hour will come. Even the angels in heaven and the Son don’t know. Only the Father knows.”
When my mother opened her new 1986 calendar, she had no idea she would be in heaven before the end of that first month. I have that calendar and can see her notes for events she expected to attend in the first months of that year. On Saturday morning, January 25th, she had her ingredients lined up on the kitchen counter ready to make cookies when an aneurysm burst in her brain. Others I’ve known and loved died suddenly, completely without warning.
But this post is not about death, it’s about life.
I have some great expectations for 2019, don’t you? Mine include: celebrating another wedding anniversary and birthday (gulp!), watching our oldest grandchild graduate from high school in May, welcoming grandchild #14 into the family in July (yes, you read that correctly), continuing my travel writing with some fabulous trips, enjoying our first full year in the new house, undertaking fresh ministry opportunities at church and spending lots of quality time with family and friends. It all depends, though, completely on God’s provision, HIs timing, His mercy, protection and grace. My job is to live with joy, love and gratitude.
Here are some wonderful verses to encourage each of us as we face the challenges, the uncertainties, and yes, the blessings of 2019.
Zephaniah 3:17 — “The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Matthew 6:26 — “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
Philippians 4:6-7 — “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 — “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”😆
HAPPY NEW YEAR, Everyone. God has a plan for each of us. Let’s enjoy finding out what that plan is for 2019.
Leave a Reply