What Next?!

The thought “what next?!” has been ringing in my head all week.  Ever have those days, weeks, months, or years when you just keep asking yourself that question… “What next?!”

As I have been asking myself that question, a thought occurred to me…

All of Jesus’ followers- especially His disciples- must’ve had this same question after the crucifixion.  They had followed Jesus, they knew who He was, they knew full well that He was their promised Messiah…but then He’s gone.  He dies a horrible death right in front of them. The finality of His ministry on earth is unmistakable.  So they ask…”What next?... “What do we do now?”… “Where do we go from here?”

The true reality, we know, was that Jesus wasn’t finished.  Yes, His ministry on earth was over- at least in the physical sense-but He wasn’t done.  The ‘what next’ was His resurrection, His return to see His closest followers, and then His ascension into heaven.  The ‘what next’ was a promise that although He wouldn’t be with them physically, He would never leave them.

So, when we ask the question, “what next?!” maybe the immediate response should be – we don’t know, but God does.  We can’t see the end, but He can.  The exclamation mark (said with frustration, fear, or angst) can be erased because we have the promise that Jesus is near.  He promised to never leave us, so that means that whatever is next will be fine because He will be there. 

And if- for even a moment- we can erase that exclamation of frustration, maybe the ‘what next’ question can be said with a tone of anticipation.  Maybe “what next?” becomes- “what do You have in store for me, God?”

A friend recently told me this thought from the book One Thousand Gifts:  As we get older, we sometimes say we’re running out of time, when in reality we’re running toward time because we’re running to eternity.

“What next?” just became a whole lot sweeter…