A Course in Miracles,
Lesson 194 I place the future in the hands of God.
Today's idea takes another step toward salvation,
And a giant stride it is indeed.
So great the distance that it encompasses,
It sets you down just short of heaven,
With the goal in sight and obstacles behind.
Your foot has reached the lawns that welcome you to heaven's gate,
The quiet place of peace where you await with certainty the final step of God.
How far are we progressing now from earth?
How close are we to approaching our goal?
How short is the journey still to be pursued?
I place the future in the hands of God.
Accept today's idea,
And you have moved beyond all anxiety,
All pits of hell,
All blackness of depression,
All thoughts of sin,
And all thoughts of devastation brought about by guilt.
I place the future in the hands of God.
Accept today's idea,
And you have released the world,
From all imprisonment,
By loosening the heavy chains that lock the door to freedom.
You are saved,
And your salvation thus becomes the gift you give the world,
Because you have received.
In no one instant is depression felt.
In no one instant is pain experienced,
Or loss perceived.
In no one instant can sorrow be set upon a throne and worshipped faithfully.
In no one instant can one even die.
And so each instant is a time of your release,
Given unto God in passing,
With the next one given him already.
Each instant is a time of your release,
From sadness,
From pain,
And even from death itself.
God holds your future as he holds your past and present.
Past,
Present,
And future are one to God,
And so they should be one to you as well.
Yet,
In this world,
The progression of time still seems real.
And so,
You are not asked to understand the lack of sequence that is really found in time,
But you are asked to let the future go.
And place the future in God's hands.
And you will see by your experience that you have laid the past and the present in God's hands as well.
Because the past will punish you no more,
And future dread will now be meaningless.
Release the future,
For the past is gone,
And what is present is freed from its bequest from the past,
And what is past is freed from past grief and misery,
Freed from past pain and loss.
Thus freed,
The present becomes the instant,
The holy instant,
In which time escapes the bondage of illusions,
Where it runs its pitiless,
Inevitable course.
Now,
Is each instant,
Which was a slave to time,
Transformed into a holy instant,
And the light that was kept hidden is freed to bless the world.
Now,
We are free,
And all God's glory shines upon a world made free,
With God to share his holiness.
I place the future in the hands of God.
If you can see this lesson as the deliverance it really is,
You will not hesitate to give as much consistent effort as you can to make it be a part of you as it becomes a thought that rules your mind,
As it becomes a habit in your problem-solving repertoire,
As it becomes a way of quick reaction to temptation.
You extend your learning to the world,
And as you learn to see salvation in all things,
So will the world perceive that it is saved.
I place the future in the hands of God.
What worry can beset us when we give our future to the loving hands of God?
What can we suffer?
What can cause us pain?
What can bring the experience of loss?
What can we fear?
What can we look upon except with love?
I place the future in the hands of God.
In the hands of God.
The one who has accepted today's idea has escaped all fear of future pain,
Has found their way to present peace,
Has found their way to a certainty of care the world can never threaten.
I place the future in the hands of God.
The one who has accepted today's idea is sure that their perception may be faulty but will never lack correction.
They are free to choose again when they have been deceived.
They are free to change their mind when they have made mistakes.
Place then your future in the hands of God.
For thus you call the memory of God to come again,
Replacing all your thoughts of sin and evil with the truth of love.
Do you think the world could fail to gain thereby?
Do you think every living creature will not respond with healed perception?
Repeat after me in your mind.
I place the future in the hands of God.
I place the future in the hands of God.
Ponder on this.
Release the future,
For the past is gone.
Past,
Present,
And future are one to God.
In this world,
The progression of time still seems real.
I place the future in the hands of God.
Release the future,
For the past is gone.
And what is present is freed from the past.
Release the future,
For the past is gone.
And what is present is freed from past grief and misery.
Release the future,
For the past is gone.
And what is present is freed from past pain and loss.
Those who entrust themselves to God have also placed the world within the hands to which they have themselves appeal for comfort and security.
Those who entrust themselves to God lay aside the sick illusions of the world along with their own and offer peace to the world and to themselves.
Offer peace to the world and to themselves.
Now we are saved,
Indeed.
For in God's hands we rest,
Untroubled,
Sure that only good can come to us.
If we forget,
We will gently be reassured.
If we accept an unforgiving thought,
It will soon be replaced by love's reflection.
If we are tempted to attack,
We will appeal to the one who guards our rest,
To make the choice for us that leaves temptation far behind.
No longer is the world our enemy,
For we have chosen that we be the world's friend.
I place the future in the hands of God.
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
