Some Ifs Belong To Us

I stated in my last post, concerning what will happen in our lives, that “Those Ifs belong to God”.
But we do indeed have our own Ifs.
If I were lazy, quit working but continually have my hand out begging money to survive, expecting God to drop daily manna for me…hmmm
It might be better if (there’s another one!) I put it this way:
We are not helpless babes in cradles. We are adults, and there is much work to do. God sets me to work, and I wouldn’t expect, in this life, to live like a Prince.
God never promised me a rose garden.
Paul was a tentmaker-his very important work of proclaiming the Gospel to the Gentiles was subsidized by his day job.
I am skilled in a few different areas, and can do most anything. The work I do is a blessing from God, as it is how He sustains me, takes care of me. But it is up to me to do the work, to earn the pay, to plan (asking His Providence) for the short bit of future I have ahead of me before Jesus returns or I go to meet Him.
That ‘short bit of future’ may be another 40 years, or eternity might sneak up on me this morning as I go to town to walk a puppy (another task I’m happy to have been tasked with).
“By the sweat of your brow you shall earn your bread.” still applies, though, in my present job it’s hard to work up a sweat, sitting at a computer.
Many of the parables which Jesus used to teach can be summarized thusly: “Be ready, work hard, be a good steward of what God has given you.” Amen! Make good use of your Ifs!