Let’s Speculate!

The believer replied, “Every promise of God proves true; He protects everyone who runs to Him for help. So don’t second guess HIm – He might take you to task.” Proverbs 30:4-6 The Message

February is here and with it comes what I like to call, the month of speculation. We speculated on whether or not the Ground hog would see his shadow this year, (he didn’t, so now we speculate on an early spring), we are speculating on who will win the Super Bowl, and we are speculating on whether Taylor will make it back from her tour in time to be at the big game. The half time show and commercials this year come in a distant second to the hype and speculation over the romance of Travis and Taylor.

The dictionary says that when we speculate, “we form a theory or a conjecture about a subject with no firm evidence.” It is so easy to play let’s speculate when a topic or thing comes up and no one really knows the answer, but we are all eager to participate.

For instance, our regular pool gang has been guilty of playing let’s speculate. There is a chance for this game whenever a certain guy who comes to the gym regularly decides to get on his phone to have a loud conversation, while walking around and around the pool deck. The behavior is so bizarre that when he is in there, we play let’s speculate! We ask questions such as, “Where do you think he was raised? Who has to talk on their phone constantly in public? Why would someone come to the gym only to walk and talk on the phone? Why would someone expose everyone to his conversation? Why would someone be totally oblivious to the annoying looks he’s getting?”

We could make a full length mystery movie at this point just from the ideas we have speculated. Sometimes the speculation becomes more and more outrageous. In our game, this guy has become everything from a frustated business man, to an illegal business owner, to a spy who spends all his time on the phone as his cover. The truth is, nobody knows the answer to any of our speculations.! We are just guessing and will never know the truth!

In this world of today, it is so easy to speculate about things of which we will never find answers. Things like: “Why do bad things happen to good people?” “Why can’t this world find peace?” “Where is God in all this?” “Why is Satan so powerful in this world?” “Will my life be better tomorrow?” “What will life be like for Christians in the future?”

The disciples questioned Jesus about many things to which they had no answer. Instead of answering, He told the them not to waste time speculating on things of this world but rather to be about the business of spreading the gospel.

If we liken this to a court room, we see that speculation occurs when a witness offers their opinion or makes educated guesses about what transpired; however, the witness may not testify about a matter of which he has no personal knowledge.

Jesus is like the witness in a court of law in that a witness is someone who can testify to what he or she has experienced or knows first hand. The witness here is not council for the defense or the prosecution but rather our Saviour who knows all. In Jeremiah 29:11, He says, for I know the plans I have for you, plans to take care of you, not abandon you, and give you the future you hope for. For this reason, there is no need to speculate! God’s got this!

Don’t waste this month in speculation, rather use this time enjoying God’s promises to us!