Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34

Grady, my middle guy, woke up and coughed twice.

“That’s it!” I thought. He’s getting sick.

With all this flu pandemonium going around, it’s easy to think every sniffle, cough, or sneeze is heading in that direction. It seems everyone is sick.

I walked down stairs and finished getting breakfast ready. Grady came down and inhaled his food, per the usual. He chugged his milk and picked on his little brother. Nothing was wrong with him. He was perfectly fine. I worried for nothing.

Don’t we do this, though. It is in our human nature to worry about a future that has yet to happen. We concoct crazy stories in our heads of what is to come worrying today about something that may not even happen later.

We fear the future without even knowing what the future holds.

God talks a lot about worry and fear in the Bible. The word “fear” is used 365 times in the Bible. A verse for every day of the year. God made us. He surely isn’t surprised when we allow worry and fear to overtake our lives. Why then, do we fear the future so much?

Control.

I believe we fear the future as a means to have some semblance of control over our lives. If we worry and fret now, when that catastrophe comes, we won’t freak out as much or maybe it won’t be as hard. Here’s the thing though, we are wasting today fearing tomorrow. Why are we giving space to something like fear in our lives when these things we are worrying about may never happen? They most likely won’t happen. Think back on some of the things you worried about and whether or not they came to fruition. It is a rarity in my life.

God calls us not to fear and not to worry. He is quite clear on that in His Word. When we allow fear and worry to infiltrate our lives, it pushes God out. If fear and worry have taken root, there is no place for the comfort and peace God provides.

It is time we stop fearing the future. God’s got us. He says so. It is time we start believing him. And, if that catastrophe does happen, God will provide you with the where-with-all and the village of people you need to face it head on. Check out your past. Did he ever leave you; ever forsake you?

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

The future doesn’t get to have a hold on us today. It is not to be feared. Letting go of fear is a daily, sometimes moment-by-moment, walk of faith trusting that the Lord’s got us. And, he really does. We can rest in knowing he’s got us and start enjoying today for this day is a gift.

Love & Blessings,

Megan