
“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.”
Proverbs 31:25
There are times in life when it is scary to think about the future. Times like election seasons, career changes, or financial burdens. The feeling of uncertainty can grip your heart leaving you glued to your mattress with the weight of an elephant on your chest.
Have you ever felt like that? I’m sure you have because not being able to foretell the future is part of the human experience.
Sometimes, it can feel exciting and sometimes it can be feel downright daunting.
I used to never worry about the future. When I was in my very steady, very secure teaching job, I felt like I never had to worry about my future. There would always be public schools, there would always be a job for me in a public school, one day I would retire at 60 and live on my retirement until I die. Boom. Future figured out.
It wasn’t until God flipped my world upside down (for the better) that I even had to start thinking about my future. Calling me to a career change at 36 was not in my very predictable life plan…but man I’m so thankful He did it.
I could so easily worry about my future right now. Where will I go when school is over? Will there be a job for me out there? Will the job I get allow me the time with James that I so desperately want or will it keep me away from him even longer?
Currently, I’m undergoing some testing for some swollen lymph nodes under my arm. I’m seeing specialists for diagnostic MRIs and ultrasounds and the words “ruling out lymphoma” have been said more times than I care to hear. I could so easily have anxiety over this.
But I’m not. I’m not worrying. I’m not freaking out.
Because God holds my future and your future. His plans for us are always GOOD. If I followed His nudge to leave a very safe, secure profession, why would I stop following His lead now? My prayers to Him have changed from “please let me get this job” to “if it’s your will open the door wide. If it is not, slam it shut.” My prayers of “please don’t let this enlarged lymph node mean anything” to “God you already have this figured out and I trust you with it.”
Recently, I have watched a good friend of mine follow God’s lead in completing a mission trip to Africa and then a month later packing up her family and moving to Texas. Her house wasn’t sold yet, she had no home to live in when she got there, and there were so many unknowns. I would call her and say “well what are you going to? Where are you going to live? How will you make money?” And her answer was “God will figure all that out I’m just being obedient to what He has for us right now.”
I was like completely mind blown that she would just blindly follow God’s lead and leave her also very secure teaching job and comfortable, familiar home that she loved because God told her to. But after our phone call, I sat back in my seat in the car and pondered what it would be like to trust God so completely that I would not have a care in the world about the future.
But friends, the more I am in my Word and the more I am praying and talking with God daily, the less fear, worry, and anxiety I have about the future. I am finally able to feel the same way my friend feels about trusting God with our futures. He already knows what will happen, and guess what? If we are obedient and follow His lead, it will be so dang good. Better than we ever could have imagined. So why would I spend this precious time I have worrying about something that may or may not happen when I already know God’s got me? When I know that He loves me deeply and cares about my future?
If you’re struggling with fear and worry, I hope to encourage you today that the God that created the entire universe cares more about your future than you do. You are his beloved creation and if you walk in His ways, your future will be bright and so so good.
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