Concern for the future

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you (Psalm 143:8).

Something that’s frequently on our minds is the future.  What problems will I have to deal with at work tomorrow?  Will I ever meet my soulmate?  What kind of future will my children have?  Am I adequately prepared for retirement? 

Thinking about the future can be unsettling; we worry that things might not turn as we hope.  Some read their daily horoscope to prepare themselves for handling things.  Others sock money away so they have enough funds to cover emergency expenses.  There are people who devote themselves to fitness in order to avoid getting sick or feeble during their senior years.  And many work at establishing a network of family and friends so they will never wind up alone.

Sadly, taking charge of your future is a futile dream.  Maintaining good health can’t insure that you won’t get disabled in a terrible accident or come down with some form of deadly infection.  Savings can be lost through bad investments or a major medical expense.  Some of the elderly wind up alone because they have outlived all their family members and friends.  And horoscopes are no help—they are about as dependable in their predictions as simply flipping a coin.  No matter how you try to prepare for the future, things rarely go according to plan.

Approaching the future with confidence does not have to be an exercise in futility.  You don’t have to live each day consumed with worry over what tomorrow might bring.  God does not tell us a whole lot about what’s coming in the days ahead, but He does tell us to trust Him.  And that’s the key—do you trust God?  Are you confident that He loves you, that He has the power to keep you safe, that He knows what’s for the best?  If you trust Him, you don’t need to know specific details about the future; it’s enough to know that all things rest in His mighty hands.  This is why it angers Him when people try to peek into the future using things like horoscopes or Tarot cards, or waste time in endless worry over what might happen in the days to come; such behavior reveals that we don’t really trust in the LORD to take good care of us.  Instead, we should pray as David did: Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.