Trusting God with our future

The first major battle of the Civil War was fought on July 21, 1861, in Manassas, Virginia.

It is often called the “First Battle of Bull Run” or simply, “First Manassas.”

While casualties were small in comparison to later battles, it caught the nation’s attention because nearly 5,000 were killed, wounded, captured or missing.

However, within any big story, there are always many smaller stories.

One of these involved Wilmer McLean’s family. Their plantation sat on the edge of the battlefield, so close to the fighting that a shell went through their kitchen.

Historian Rick Beyer wrote that McLean decided to move his family to a remote Virginia town, where he was confident “the sound of the battle would never reach them.” As it turned out he was both right and wrong.

Four years later, as the Civil War was nearing an end, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee led his once mighty army into the very town where McLean had relocated.

On April 9, 1865, Lee came to terms with the fact that the war was lost, and his only option was surrender.

One of his aides selected the front room of a nearby house for his formal surrender to Union Gen. Ulysses Grant … it was the home of Wilmer McLean.

How ironic that the home of one family directly impacted by the first major battle of the Civil War would eventually play a central role in the war’s conclusion.

The Civil War was very profitable for McLean. He made a fortune smuggling sugar. However, following the war, his fortune, which was in Confederate money, became worthless, and he had to default on money he had borrowed.

Wilmer McLean was no fool. Although his plans seemed to initially succeed, they ultimately failed.

He illustrates a harsh reality that all of us must face if we are honest, the future is a mystery.

While it is appropriate to plan ahead, sometimes things work out as planned and sometimes they do not.

The Bible describes that reality like this, “Look here, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.’ How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog — it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.’” (James 4:13-15, NLT)

James’ point is not that we should never make plans, but that we need to understand only God knows the future. It is an obvious lesson to learn, but it is not an easy one to live.

Most of us tend to naturally follow our imperfect plans rather than trusting the one who sees the future as perfectly as he sees the present.

Tim Richards grew up in Fairdealing and previously served as associate pastor of Pilgrim’s Rest Church there. He currently serves as a pastor on the staff of Concord Church in South County St. Louis.