Many people give no thought to anything other than their daily routines and never wonder what will happen to them when their earthly lives are over. They live according to their five senses, never paying attention to the spiritual side of life. The choices we make and what we do now will determine where we go in the future, and some of us may decide we don’t like the direction in which we’re heading. If we reach this realization, it’s not too late to make a course correction.

Our time on earth is fleeting. We have only a few short years to get it right; we won’t be here forever, and as the years roll by we become more and more aware of this. “Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow” (Psalm 144:4, NKJV). We make a mistake when we fail to think about our future lives, but we don’t have to worry if we make Jesus Christ a part of our present lives. A relationship with Him guides us in the right direction.

We can’t predict the future, and the unknown aspect of it can frighten us if we don’t know Jesus. Conversely, if we’ve learned to trust Him and we know His nature, there’s no fear in moving forward. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11, NKJV). He loves us and wants the best for us. He’s the master at exchanging dry, meaningless lives with uncertain futures for joyful, deliberate lives with a heavenly destination.

We can’t possibly turn our lives around by ourselves because it’s too big of a job; we need God’s help for that. Left on our own, we’re likely to continue down the wrong road, mistakenly thinking we’re headed the right way. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). We need godly wisdom to find the right direction. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye” (Psalm 32:8).

Listening more to what God tells us and less to what the world tells us keeps us on the right track. Studying our Bibles and meditating on what we read helps us stay in the right frame of mind to learn what we need to know and receive from Him. God’s message to us is that there is hope. Those who place their hope and confidence in Him won’t be disappointed. “For surely there is a latter end [a future and a reward], and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off. Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your mind in the way [of the Lord]” (Proverbs 23:18, 19, AMPC).

Trusting God to teach us how to live by putting Him in the role of our mentor enriches our lives and transforms us in ways we could never imagine. We find ourselves changing from the inside out, and things that used to frighten us no longer hold power over us. Jesus has conquered for us the ultimate fear many people still have. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). God is signaling the right way to go; how we respond is up to us.