Through this journey called life, we experience good, bad, ups, and downs, and often we haven’t got a clue what’s ahead. We make the best choices we can and try to live caring, honest lives, but every day, we make decisions that could affect our future, and it’s not always clear how.
That’s not easy even in simple times, but the times we live in now are anything but simple. We can safely assume this is an interesting age for scholars of culture and history, but the reality for those of us who are living it is that each new year seems to introduce new uncertainties and risks.
One thing that we can hold on to, though, is God’s love and care for us, even in the darkest, most difficult times. “God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.’” 1
In 1939, a young preacher and musician named Ira Stanphill married Zelma Lawson, a minister’s daughter who had a lovely voice and played the piano. Unfortunately, that marriage ended in 1948, and his ex-wife was killed in a car crash not long after. During the years between their separation and divorce, and then her death, Stanphill is said to have sunk into a deep depression.
He was driving one night when he began to hum a song about not knowing what the future held and trusting God under circumstances he didn’t understand. Upon arriving home, he rushed to his piano and jotted down the words to the song “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow,” which have resonated over the years with so many who face an unknown future.
God doesn’t promise that walking with Him will be easy, but what He does promise is that every day of our lives is in His hands! In these uncertain days, what a comfort it is to realize that the one who loves us the most knows the way and will walk through it with us.
Many things about tomorrow,
I don’t seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand.
- Hebrews 13:5 NLT↑