You Really Don't Want to Know

Christians share many attributes in common with non-Christians (we’re all people, after all). One particularly futile attribute we wrestle with regards our fascination with the unknown, particularly our future. Most of us stand ready to trade treasured items for a glimpse into our futures (should the opportunity present itself). Our calls may not flood psychic hotlines, but the thought crosses our minds and we strive after any clue or hint of evidence that may serve as a portal into the future.
Our fascination with the future betrays hidden transgressions in our hearts, such as lack of trust in God or ill contentment with our current lives. We convince ourselves all worries would melt away if we only knew what the future held. Knowing the future creates greater opportunity for trusting God and submitting to His will, we believe. Surely knowing His glorious purposes for our lives grows our faith and increases our love for Him a hundred-fold!
A man named Hosea might disagree. Hosea prophesied God’s truth to a kingdom whose tenants flagrantly turned their backs on their Savior. The life of a prophet in the Old Testament hardly qualified as a desirable occupation; Hosea’s amplified that reputation.
When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord.”
Hosea 1:2 
Before letting romantic tingles consume your emotion-prone heart, God’s command to Hosea bears no romance. Hosea marries a prostitute, not out of love or an enthralling story of rescue, but because he’s commanded to do so by the Lord. Love at first sight evaded Hosea and his wife. Their marriage mirrored God’s “marriage” to His people Israel (not a lovely relationship by any means).
Hosea’s understanding of his marriage and purpose therein stood clear. God cued Hosea into His plan and purposes—how He intended to carry out His will in and through Hosea’s life and marriage. Did Hosea embrace this calling with open arms and an eager heart? Seems unlikely. His obedience divulges the depth of his faith in God, but moving forward in such a situation could not have been easy.
Other lives in Scripture reveal the less than glamorous appeal of knowing the future before it happens as well. Consider John the Baptist. He received no divine insight into his future regarding specific happenings, yet arguably preferred it that way if given the choice. We often admire John the Baptist with slight envy when contemplating his life. But what about the way it ended?
But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Having been prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. He sent and had John beheaded in prison.
Matthew 14:6-10
Do we envy his death—beheaded by a vindictive queen at the drunken pledge by the king?
If God allowed John the Baptist to behold all his future, would he pursue Christ as wholeheartedly? No one possesses insight to answer such a question, but it creates an opportunity for deep reflection regardless. Chances remain solid that martyrdom evades most of our futures. But martyrdom scarcely echoes the only form of tribulation we encounter on earth.
God’s silence about our individual futures actually constitutes as a measure of grace. Uncertainty of details allows us to enjoy the ride far more than intimate knowledge would. On one hand, He spares us from the dread of impending rough patches. On the other hand, we receive the blessing of enriched spontaneity when blessings rain down in blissful drops—one after the other.
Remaining unaware of the specific revelation of our future mostly ends well. We enjoy life far more exercising our trust and faith in God than we would if we seized a portal of the inevitable.
However, what we lack in vision regarding specific revelation of our individual lives, God makes up for in general revelation of the Gospel and our future in Him. We may hobble about in life from one trial to the next, but through every hardship we face we possess inexplicable peace derived from certainty in our ultimate destiny.
Knowing our ultimate future in God secured in the sacrifice in Christ permits us to live life to the fullest here and now. Because Jesus overcame the world and currently waits to consummate the kingdom He inaugurated in His first coming, we live in His victory. The world controls its own, and we belong not to the world, but to its Creator. Our eternal future lies in His incomprehensible grace guarded by the impenetrable covering of Christ’s sacrifice through the Gospel.
In light of our everlasting future in glory, knowing details that die with this life ceases to matter. Let the omniscient One know enough for you. Trust His heart and Word even when you can’t trace His hand. Enjoy the beautiful, enthralling life He yearns to walk you through. That’s all you really need (and ever want) to know.