Preview

I've been thinking about trailers this evening.  Not the sort that you attach to your car, but the sort which advertise a film or a TV programme.

 

They give us a quick and intriguing insight into what's coming up next, or try to persuade us to go and watch a film.

 

Sometimes I wish I had a trailer for my life: I'd love to know how the storyline pans out and what's going to happen.  Or even a short weekly trailer: a quick snippet of what to expect in the next week.  The highlights and the low points, the things to look out for and the things that will be stressful.  I wouldn't have to worry about things, I could be prepared for everything.  Nothing would catch me out.

 

But my life wouldn't be very exciting - I wouldn't really be living.  It'd be like simply reading through a script which I hadn't written, but couldn't control.  It would be boring, at best, and deeply dissatisfying at worst.

 

I don't know how my life will unfold and what will happen, but I do know and trust that God has got good plans for me.

 

This is one of my favourite verses in the whole Bible and it reminds me to trust in God when I feel that I don't really have a clue what is happening in my life:

 

         "The Lord will guide you always;
         he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
         and will strengthen your frame.
         You will be like a well-watered garden,
         like a spring whose waters never fail."

 

[Isaiah 58:11 NIV]

 

I want to be guided by God.  I want a life that is satisfied, even in difficult circumstances. I want a strong frame.  I want to be 'well-watered'; I want to be a spring that never runs dry.

 

Like a trailer for a film or the next episode of a TV programme, this verse doesn't give away the whole plot.  It doesn't give us all of the details, but it gives enough detail to make me want to read on.

 

And it's not just a preview for my life.  It's a preview for all of us.  If we want it.