Proverbs 27:1
Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
———————————————————————–
Boast: ( Strong’s 1984) Hebrew – halal. To boast, be boastful, glory in, praise.
Tomorrow: (Strong’s 4279) Hebrew – machar. Tomorrow, time to come, in future time, in the future.
Knowest: (Strong’s 3045) Hebrew – yada’. To know, have knowledge, be wise, be familiar with, to perceive, to recognize, to know by experience.
Bring Forth: (Strong’s 3205) Hebrew – yalad. To bear or bring forth, as of bearing a child, or of a situation bringing forth distress, or of the wicked bringing forth iniquity.
my translation:
Don’t brag about your future, no matter how certain you think it is.
——————————————————————-
You may have made all the right choices, taken the steps, and now you are just waiting for the right responses that will ensure your enviable future. Take a step back before you start bragging about how great next year is going to be for you. No matter how well you may have done in the past, no matter how prepared you are, you simply cannot guarantee what will follow in your life.
Why not? According to Prov. 27:1, primarily because of two possibilities you simply cannot know ahead of time: 1) any situation that could occur and bring distress, rather than the expected blessing or comfort, into your life, or 2) any act of wickedness, sin, wrongdoing, or immorality that will end up causing you pain instead of your expected pleasure.
Note what isn’t stated as a cause of the future not working out: God. How often have you blamed God for things not falling into place the way you expect them to? The basic message of this verse is that the uncertainty of the future is not a result of God having some personal vendetta against your happiness.
The truth is that circumstances of an imperfect world and actions of an immoral people can cause our best plans to fall apart. This doesn’t mean we’ve done something wrong, necessarily. And it doesn’t mean God has intervened to make our lives miserable. It means we live in reality, and if we expect the unexpected, as this verse instructs us to, we will be better prepared to deal with it. The alternative is to sink into a bitter attitude, become a victim, and give up on anything good ever happening.
If the future is so uncertain, then, should we give up on anything good? Is it pointless to try? No. Another proverb gives us the answer: The wicked works deceptive work, but to him who does righteousness there is a sure reward (Prov. 11:18). Things may not work out as we expect, and feel that we deserve, in the short-term. (And really, all of life on earth is short-term.) But there is a promise of justice. If we keep on trying, despite bad circumstances and bad people getting in our way, we will see a good reward for our actions.
———————————————————–
I thought that my voyage had come to its end at the last limit of my power–the path before me was closed, that provisions were exhausted and the time had come to take shelter in a silent obscurity.
But I find that thy will knows no end in me. And when old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart; and where the old tracks are lost, new country is revealed with its wonders.
- Rabindranath Tagore, #37 in Gitanjali
