| Margret was 93 and living in a nursing home for seniors. She was worried about how much money she had and whether she could continue to live in the home. Her daughter, who had just turned 70, wanted to reassure her mother that everything would be fine. She sat down with her mother and the accountant, and they went over her financial records. The advisor said that even with inflation she would have enough money to live in the home until she turned 114 years old. When presented with the facts, her first question was, “And then what will I do for money?” Is Margret and optimist or a pessimist? On the one hand, she plans to live for a long time. On the other, she worries about something that is unlikely to happen. Do we ever reach a point in life when we truly trust God with our future? Our human need is to control everything. Yet there is very little we can exercise control over. The truth is, we don’t know what tomorrow holds. We don’t know what joys and sorrows lie ahead. We do need to plan and be wise. We should be thinking about our future. It’s just that there are no guarantees. God alone holds the future. The words of Jesus bring us comfort: “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?… 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 6:25-27, 31-34) If you are worried about how you will pay the bills when you are at 114 years old – stop. Your heavenly Father knows your needs. Whether it’s our health, relationships, provision or just the future in general, we can count on him. |
