I became a believer and follower of Jesus as a teenager. It was an exciting time and dramatic changes to how I viewed my life were taking place. What I didn’t know then was how much those changes were setting the course for my future. Looking back I now realize that without those changes, I would not be where I am today and would have missed so much that God had planned for me. Obedience in my past made my today possible.

That’s been on my mind because this week I’ve been reading the gospels over and over as part of my study retreat. The disciples had a similar experience.

There was so much they didn’t understand during their time with Jesus. It was not until the crucifixion and resurrection occurred that they grasped what He had been telling them about His purpose and their future ministry. On one occasion, He even told them: “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). Jesus indicated there were some things He intentionally did not say to them “at the beginning.” This was not because Jesus was being deceitful or the disciples lacked the intellect to learn.

It was because there are some opportunities we’re not ready for until we’ve lived through earlier experiences and some insights we can’t fully grasp until we’ve already grasped earlier ones.

The key to finding God’s future for our life, however, is not simply to live and have a lot of experiences. It is to obey what we already know Jesus wants from us in the present.

One author has written that the disciples “capacity to receive revelation would grow provided they continued to practice what truth they did understand. Obedience to Christ thus was the very means by which those in His company learned more truth” (The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman, page 56). While many in the gospels stopped following Jesus because they didn’t understand everything He said, the disciples stayed the course. They knew He was the Messiah and that obedience was the true sign of love. Because they stayed and obeyed, they grew…they learned…they ended up fulfilling God’s call on their lives.

That is how it always works!

I sometimes wonder how my life would have turned out if I had taken a different course in my past. I’m glad I didn’t choose a different path and each time I reflect on that question, I grow in gratitude for God’s blessings. I’m also reminded that my choice to obey or disobey God today will impact my unknown tomorrow.

Pastor Steve Hogg