A WORD TO THE WISE: Proverbs 27: 1 (Name It but Don't Claim It)

Proverbs 27: 1     Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

Proverbs 27: 1.  “You never know what you’re gonna get.”  That’s what Forrest Gump’s mama always said about life and boxes of chocolates.  

But if Mama Gump was right, how can I name and claim what I want if I can’t know what I’m gonna get?   Didn’t Jesus say that if I believe when I ask, then I can have whatsoever I desire (John 15: 7)?  He did, but He said that there were several conditions for that case.

John 15: ^7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. ^8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Condition 1) abide in Me - I have to be saved.  It’s insufficient to be associated with a church if I’m not abiding in Christ.

Condition 2) My words abide in you - God’s Word/ His commands dictating my conduct and character must be a permanent and persistent part of my identity.  Quoting a few verses here & there means nothing if His total Word doesn’t live/ abide in me.
Condition 3) My Father is glorified - My desires (and the receiving of those desires) must serve the purpose of glorifying God.
Condition 4) you bear much fruit - My desires (and the receiving of those desires) must serve the purpose of bearing fruit in/ for the Kingdom of God.
* so you will be My disciples-  If Conditions 3 & 4 don’t happen then I don’t meet Condition #1.

Yet, even when all of these conditions are reached, there’s still the question of how I can really, truly know what I’m gonna get when tomorrow comes.  Can I speak my earthly future with confidence?  Do I now get to boast of my tomorrow?

Nope.

I can be sure that God will give me what I ask in Jesus’ name/ in line with Jesus’ person and will.  But, I cannot be sure where those blessing will take me.  After all, I don’t get what I get so that I can brag about what I have.  I get what I get so that I can bear Kingdom fruit that glorifies God.

In prayer I can name the job I’m asking the Lord for, but I can’t claim the job (not even when I get it) because the job isn’t primarily about me.  The job is a blessing that’s about glorifying God and bearing Kingdom fruit.

In prayer, I can name deliverance from debt and an inheritance for my children, but I can’t claim the money that comes because those payments and provision are blessings for God’s glory not mine.  Those blessings are for the bearing of generations of Kingdom fruit, not for my continued bragging rights.

In Luke 12: 16-21 Jesus (the same Jesus who gave the conditional promises of John 15: 7, 8) told a parable about a rich man who had so much stuff that he went to bed saying, “I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. ^And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”

The rich dude claimed the increase of tomorrow for himself. 

God replied, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?”

If I try to claim what I’ve named in Jesus’ name, then I’m trying to brag/ to boast.  And that’s foolish.

Nowhere in the parable did Jesus say that the rich man was dishonest or unreligious.  The problem was that the rich man had laid up treasure for himself.  He should have left the claim on his riches for God (Luke 12: 21).

You don’t know if tomorrow will bring health or sickness.  Name health when you pray, but don’t claim to be entitled to relief from sickness.  You don’t know if the day may bring a thorn in the flesh meant to demonstrate the sufficiency of God’s grace and making you stronger than if you’d had perfect physical health (2 Corinthians 12: 7-10).   

You don’t know if tomorrow will bring deliverance for your lost friend or a deeper slide into sin.  Name deliverance when you pray today, but don’t claim to be entitled to see them delivered in 24 hours.  You don’t know if the day may bring that friend to rock bottom because that’s the only way he’ll/ she’ll learn not to reject God (1 Timothy 1: 20).  Their ultimate deliverance may require their immediate sifting (Luke 22: 31) so that they will emerge spiritually transformed and able to strengthen their brothers & sisters (Luke 22: 32).

Don’t lay claim to tomorrow, boasting that you know what you’re gonna get.  ^Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” (James 4: 15)

Leave all claims on tomorrow to God.  He actually does know what the day will bring.

----- Anderson T. Graves II

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is the pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church

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