Does this imply that if we come to know the Lord, he tells us every detail of what will happen in advance? No, but he tells us the most important things of all – the great landmarks of our future. The believer knows that all things work for his eternal good. He can make choices which allow him to escape the snares that capture so many unsuspecting worldlings. Nothing can happen to God’s children, but God knows about it; that is the point. The Christian’s future is in the hands of a loving heavenly Father, and he will no do anything to harm his children. He may not tell us all that will take place, but he tells us that if we put our trust in Christ, then we have an eternal inheritance with him in glory.
But the unbeliever rejects what God has to say about the future. A knowledge of the future might allow man to avoid certain evils that lie in store for him, but because he does not have that knowledge, he is unable to avoid the misery that is so much a part of his life. Man without God is like a ship sailing into a violent storm, not knowing what lies ahead. Imagine a ship with no radio, and therefore no weather forecast. It sails on not realising that up ahead is a ferocious tempest which will tear its sails, split its mast, and send it down to the bottom of the sea. Life for the unbeliever is like this, for he takes no heed of God’s warnings. What is the matter with us? Why do we run from God? We think we are complete, but we can’t predict what will happen. This time next year, you may be infirm, or in a totally unexpected and undesirable situation.