我和我的孩子们喜欢看一个关于世界各地未解之谜和寻找失落宝藏的电视节目。有时，了解遥远的地方和人，以及我们以前从未听说过的事件，实在令人着迷。但有时，未知的东西也会让人有点害怕。当节目主持人在狭小的隧道和古老的遗迹中爬行时，未知确实会有点可怕。
雅各说，明天如何，我们还不知道。当然，这是真的。未来对我们来说是完全未知的。我们可以做计划，认为我们知道自己将做什么，但最终，我们所有关于未来的计划和希望都不能保证什么。即使是最好的计划也可能会土崩瓦解。我们根本不知道未来会发生什么。它不在我们的控制范围内，这可能是令人害怕的。
但知道神在掌管，就不害怕了。正如耶稣在教祂的门徒如何祷告时说的——雅各在这里也有呼应——“愿神的旨意成就”。神的旨意会被成就。因此，无论你对未来有什么惧怕，都可以放心，神不仅知道会发生什么，而且还在掌管着它。
神把我们握在祂的手中。我们不需要害怕未知的事。
掌管未来的神，请帮助我们不要害怕即将发生的事。帮助我们永远记住，你把未知的事掌握在你的手中。阿们。
雅各书 4:13-17
13嗐，你们有话说：“今天、明天我们要往某城里去，在那里住一年，做买卖得利。”
14其实明天如何，你们还不知道。你们的生命是什么呢？你们原来是一片云雾，出现少时就不见了。
15你们只当说：“主若愿意，我们就可以活着，也可以做这事或做那事。”
16现今你们竟以张狂夸口。凡这样夸口都是恶的。
17人若知道行善却不去行，这就是他的罪了。
"You do not even know what will happen tomorrow." - James 4:14
My kids and I like to watch a TV show about unsolved mysteries and hunts for lost treasure around the world. Sometimes it’s just fascinating to learn about faraway places and people and events we have never heard about before. But sometimes the unknown can be a bit frightening. As the host of the show crawls through tight tunnels and scrambles through ancient ruins, the unknown can be a little scary.
James says that we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. That’s true, of course. The future is wholly unknown to us. We can plan and think that we know what we will do, but in the end, all of our planning and hoping about the future doesn’t promise anything. Even the best laid plans can fall apart. We simply don’t know what the future will hold. It is out of our control, and that can be frightful.
But what isn’t frightening is knowing that God is in control. As Jesus says when he teaches his disciples how to pray—and James echoes that here—“God’s will be done.” And God’s will will be done. So whatever fear you might have about the future, you can be assured that God not only knows what will happen but is also in control of it.
God holds us in his hands. We don’t need to fear the unknown.
God of the future, help us not to fear what is to come. Help us to remember always that you hold the unknown in your hands. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
