A long time from now in a galaxy not so far, far away...
How's that for a dramatic opener? When we think of the future, we usually see it through one of two lenses. Either everything looks all Star-Warsy and futuristic with galactic cars and metal fashion or it all looks kind of blurry—like we have no idea what our future will look like, so we'll simply cross that bridge when we get there.
Either way, our future will eventually become our present. I can't predict whether hovercrafts will be involved, but I can tell you that if you want to see your future, you should take a hard look at your life right now.
One of the top twenty-five lies identified in the book Lies Young Women Believe is "What I do now doesn't affect me in the future." It made the list because we encountered so many women who thought that the choices they make today were unconnected to their lives in the future.
Galatians 6:7 says, "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that he will also reap."
Translation: Today impacts tomorrow.
In Lies Young Women Believe, Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh write about it this way:
Habits are the result of seemingly insignificant individual choices and acts that you sow when you're twelve, fifteen, or twenty. They can be good or bad. You'll reap what you sow. You're sowing seeds now. What you do with your time, your eating habits, your exercise habits, the way you talk, the way you talk to your parents, the way you treat your friends, the way you spend your money, the way you work, your sleep habits.... These are habits you are developing today.
With that in mind, I'd like you to consider what habits are in your life today that you don't want to be there ten years for now (or twenty or thirty or ...). Specifically, what habits have you developed (or not developed) in your walk with Christ that you'd like to change in the future?
Got something in mind? Good! Now I'm going to ask you to do something that may feel a little strange. I want you to write a letter to yourself. Tell yourself what you'd like to be doing differently in the future. This will serve as a good reminder that today you are practicing for who you will be tomorrow.
While it's good to think through the future impact of our habits, I also want to point out that the responsibility for changing bad habits doesn't rest all on your shoulders. God is constantly working to make you into a "new creation" that looks more like Him. After you've written a letter to your future self, write a private letter to God asking Him to shape you into whom He wants you to be tomorrow.
Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future (Prov. 19:20).
