Anxious About the Future
Did you ever play groundies when you were a kid? It’s the game where you have to keep your eyes closed on the playground and try to tag another person. It was my favorite playground game! But I HATED being the person who had to close their eyes. Not being able to see where I was going was terrifying. Would I walk off the highest point on the playground? Would I run into a pole? Why did my mom let me play this dangerous game?
I feel like my life is sort of like groundies. I can’t see what is going to happen in my future and fear seeps in.
Am I going to be able to do something important with my life?
What if I make a mistake that negatively impacts my future?
Maybe I’m not prepared for this.
Have you had similar thoughts? These worries have kept me up at night. No amount of planning has eased my mind. But last night I decided to take my anxious thoughts to God and he revealed some things to me:
1. My plans are not always God’s plans. I think that it’s engrained in us our freshman year of high school to plan out our future. I definitely see the wisdom in this. Goals keep us focused and place meaning behind our work. The problem is that we make important decisions about our future without consulting God. Isn’t it crazy that we do this? The God who made us for a specific purpose is always available to talk, yet we don’t ask him about the direction he has for our lives. “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” Proverbs 16:3.
2. The world is full of wise people but none of them are as wise as God. There are tons of self-help blogs, books, and public figures who share ways for you to live a more fulfilling life, earn more money, be confidant, etc. Some of them have good advice and others look good on paper but don’t work in real life. The advice may even clash with the teachings of Jesus. “There is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way to death.” Proverbs 16:25. Here are some examples of human advice vs. biblical advice:
“Get as much money as you can.” vs. “Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it.” Ecclesiastes 7:12 and “How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!” Proverbs 16:16.
“Follow you heart and do whatever makes you feel happy!” vs. Romans 13:14, “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Not all of the advice that you get will go against the Bible, but the wisdom from God is more important and effective. I have never seen someone’s life truly change permanently from a self-help book, but I have seen Jesus permanently change people’s lives for the better. Don’t rely on human wisdom more than you rely on God’s. “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 and “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Isaiah 64:6.
3. I can cast all of my anxiety on Jesus. It is incredibly easy to freak out about your future. Sometimes I focus on all of my fears and get overwhelmed. I don’t have to feel this way though. Jesus is more than happy to comfort me and ease my worries. Here is a link that has a list of verses about Anxiety and fear: billygrahm.com. I highly suggest writing down some of these verses and putting them somewhere you will see them. Maybe make one your lock screen. Reading truth helps quiet my fears. I took some time last night to write out Bible verses about God’s wisdom. I also prayed. I told him what scares me about my future. It felt good to talk to him and feel comforted knowing that he is always there. He holds my unknown future in his hands.
What have you learned about trusting God with your future?