Christ Will Rescue You: God, What’s Next?

Ecclesiastes 6:10-12(NLT)

“10 Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny. 11 The more words you speak, the less they mean. So what good are they? 12 In the few days of our meaningless lives, who knows how our days can best be spent? Our lives are like a shadow. Who can tell what will happen on this earth after we are gone?”

“My life seems so empty. I’m so tired of the same ol’ thing!”

“God, what’s next?” This is often the question we ask Heavenly Father after we’ve gone through either the worst situation we’ve ever faced, or we’re anticipating the next blessing and waiting for instructions to usher it on through. In either case, God can handle any question we throw at Him, no matter the situation. As a matter of fact, He welcomes us to come to Him with anything that is on our hearts. He wants to have an intimate relationship with His kids. This is one of the reasons that He placed His Spirit within us, so that we would know He is always and forever close.

The relationships between biological parents and their children can sometimes be a very complicated matter, especially as we mature into adulthood, but this isn’t the case with God. We will forever be His children, no matter our age, and we will forever and always need His guidance and help. So, when we ask a question like ‘what’s next?’, there’s no talking back or second guessing what the Father says. Our only choice is to be honest with ourselves and be ready when He gives us the answer. As we mature spiritually, the answer to this question will deepen, because it will include another layer of responsibility to God’s call and purpose for our lives.

In Ecclesiastes 6:10-12, Solomon, the wisest person that has ever lived, was on a lifelong quest to discover the meaning of life. At times, he was somewhat pessimistic, because everything to him in life seemed like an empty pursuit. One of the reasons for this is because his level of wisdom was far in advance of what was available to him at the time. Jesus Christ had not yet come to the earth, and Solomon couldn’t fill in the blanks. He didn’t know the plan of God because 1Corinthians 2:7 tells us that it was kept a mystery. Even so, Solomon made it crystal clear that God is indeed the One with the plan, and the only worthwhile endeavor in life is to pursue God and know as much of God’s Word as possible.

God rewards us for studying His Word. It is how we show that we are interested in knowing Him, and He is pleased with this because His Word transforms us into who He desires us to be. We are to be like Christ, and this means that we are to get busy doing the same things that Christ did in the earth. Most of us understand that in order to get paid, you have to work. In 2Thessalonians 3:10, God says that if a person isn’t willing to work, they shouldn’t eat. He is letting us know that looking for a handout when we can work, but won’t, isn’t the responsible way to live. We have no other choice but to conclude that work is very important to living a life that pleases God. He made this very clear when He wasted no time assigning Adam the task of taking care of things in the earth. Genesis 2:15(NIV) says, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” This is one of the basic lessons about faith that God teaches us from the very beginning. He gives us assignments to take care of certain things, and the completion of those assignments lead to compensation and rewards. Without diligent effort, there can be no reward.

In Hebrews 11:6, God tells us that He is a Rewarder to those that diligently seek Him. Many of us have it in our heads that bosses, executives, and other owners of businesses have this compensation thing in top order. For instance, if we work for two weeks at one of their businesses, it wouldn’t occur to us that we wouldn’t get paid. We’ll even give them our bank information so that at the end of the pay cycle, our compensation for the two weeks is all set. We have this level of confidence in people, so why would we not have even more confidence in God? He’s the ultimate Rewarder, and everything we do for God is compensated by Him.

Some of us have gotten it into our heads that we don’t have to fulfill our obligation to God. We think we can get away with not doing the things He’s called us to do. We expect His blessings even though we’ve not been responsible to our call; we’ve been more responsible to those in the world than we have to Heavenly Father. We must change this, pronto! The mentality and attitude that allows us to think and behave in this manner will block our faith and keep us separated from the blessings that God desires to give us.

When we experience some of life’s unpredictable hiccups, sometimes it is because we’re paying too much attention to the world, and we haven’t placed enough focus on God. When this is the case, the enemy will use our ignorance and oblivion to catch us off-guard and this is the worst place to be. If we don’t wake up, our lives could just keep spiraling downward.

Hebrews 6:10-12(NLT) tells us, “10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” This passage cement’s God requirement for the believer. When things in life go haywire, and we feel as though we can’t catch up, sometimes it is because we haven’t awaken to God’s requirement. It’s a requirement to imitate Him by helping others and encouraging them through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Whether our situations are uncomfortable or rewarding, what comes next is always going to be about our responsibility to the Kingdom of God. Romans 8:28(NKJV) tells us, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” We are called according to GOD’s purpose. He’s our Rewarder, and when we do what HE requires, He will cause all things to work together for our good. When you and I open our minds and hearts to the reality that Kingdom people do Kingdom work, we can always be confident that what comes next will be next level responsibilities and next level blessings. ■

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Christ Will Rescue You

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

God, What’s Next?

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