4 Reset Your Future Series

Introduction: Thinking About the Future

As we come to the final week of this Reset series, I want to ask a simple but important question:

How do you feel when you think about the future?

For some, the future feels exciting — full of possibility and hope.

For others, it brings uncertainty, worry, or even fear.

We think about:

• Health and ageing

• Finances and security

• Family and relationships

• Purpose and direction

• What comes next in life or faith

And the truth is, the future is one of the biggest sources of anxiety for us as human beings —

because so much of it is out of our control.

This series has been about resetting our lives with God at the centre — our hearts, our minds, our priorities.

Today, we turn our attention outward — to what lies ahead.

Resetting your future isn’t about knowing the plan.

It’s about knowing who we trust.

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1. When Jesus Is No Longer Central, the Future Feels Heavy

We live in a culture that tells us we should have life figured out:

• Five-year plans

• Setting clear goals

• Backup options

• Security for every scenario

Now, planning itself isn’t wrong.

But the pressure to control the future can quietly push God to the edges.

And, when God is no longer central:

• Anxiety grows

• Fear begins to lead

• We trust our understanding more than God’s guidance

I think you know the truth:

The future becomes frightening when we believe it rests entirely on our shoulders.

But the bible invites us to a different way —

no, not certainty, but trust.

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2. God’s Promise Is About Faithfulness, Not a Trouble-Free Life

One of the most well-known verses about the future is Jeremiah 29:11:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.”

This is a beautiful promise — but it’s often misunderstood.

These words were written to people in exile.

They were far from home.

Life was difficult.

The future was unclear.

God wasn’t promising them an easy or immediate rescue.

He was promising faithful presence and lasting hope.

In other words:

God’s plans are trustworthy

— not because life will be simple

— but because He remains faithful.

Hope doesn’t come from knowing what will happen next.

Hope comes from knowing who walks with us into whatever comes next.

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3. Object Illustration: A Map or a Torch

(At this point, hold up a map or phone with a map app.)

This is what many of us want from God —

• a full map of the future

• Clear directions.

• Every turn explained.

• No surprises.

But this is often what God gives us instead.

(Hold up a torch, or turn on a phone torch.)

A torch doesn’t show the whole road.

It gives just enough light for the next step.

Psalm 119:105 says: (hold bible with torch)

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

• Not a floodlight.

• Not a detailed blueprint.

• But enough light to keep us moving.

We can reason –

God isn’t giving me answers,

where’s my guidance for the future?

But . . . What if God isn’t asking you to see the whole future (would we even want that?) —

but simply asking you to trust Him with the next step?

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4. Trusting God When the Path Isn’t Clear

This brings us to Proverbs 3:5–6:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to Him,

and He will make your paths straight.”

This passage in the bible doesn’t promise clarity — it promises direction.

“Straight paths” doesn’t mean easy paths.

It doesn’t mean predictable paths.

It means God-directed paths.

• Faith isn’t about having all the answers.

• Faith is about choosing trust over control.

And that choice often has to be made again and again.

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5. Resetting the Future Means Releasing Control

So what does it mean to reset your future?

It means:

• Releasing the need to control outcomes

• Releasing timelines you’ve set

• Releasing fear about what might happen

And choosing instead:

• Trust

• Obedience

• Faithful steps forward

Many of us know that, unlike other people – even unlike ourselves,

God hasn’t let us down in the past; and

therefore we know that He is worthy of that

trust to move forward.

Resetting the future doesn’t mean we stop planning.

It means you stop placing our hope in the plan instead of in Christ.

The central question for today is this:

Where do I need to trust God again with what’s ahead?