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February 17th, 2011

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Waiting for Tomorrow

By Tessa Sean Hershberger

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"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
 Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

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THERE SEEMS TO be an obsession with "the future" in our culture, specifically within the sub-culture that Christians have created. We love to quote verses like Jeremiah 29:11 which says, "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope" (NRSV). We encourage our friends by saying things like, "I am so excited for all of the amazing plans that God has for your life!" It has resulted in the creation of a mindset that is seemingly obsessed with the anticipation that somewhere down the road things will be better.

Things do change, and we do grow and mature in life. We do overcome obstacles, and we do triumph over weaknesses, goals and hard times, and those are very beautiful times in our lives. Yet our total fixation on all these things to come gradually leads to a discontentment with the present—where we are, who we are, what we're doing.

My "future" may be wonderfully exciting, but I must remember that today I am living in the future that I dreamed about five years ago. If this is indeed true, then, according to Jeremiah 29:11, there is hope for today, and there are good things for now. 

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Are you living in the present? How can you balance living fully today while still hoping for your future?

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This devotion is adapted from an article on relevantmagazine.com.

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