How many of
us, if we are honest, live stressed-out and anxious/worried about tomorrow? If
you answered yes to that question, you are not alone. When we live our lives
projecting tomorrow’s outcomes we forfeit the grace God supplies to us daily,
not in lump sums. How many of us try and store God’s grace for us? We believe with
enough planning and control we can predict outcomes as well as secure our
future. But we could not be more wrong. How many of us have tried to get a
close handle on our lives by predicting the outcomes of our lives. We try and
analyze and figure-out every possible outcome and situation until we become exhausted
and frustrated. Life happens and we cannot live on tomorrow’s provisions for
today.
Living in
the past or projecting the future will cause stress, anxiety, worry, fear,
fatigue and possible illness. Some of us try and live in the past because we
have not “settled” our past or properly let-go and healed our hurts as well as
past failures. Some of us try and figure out future outcomes because we live in
fear and at the root of that fear is a lack of trust in God. We might say we
trust God but deep down where no one else can see, we felt we have been let
down by God, forgotten by Him, or discouraged in the waiting process. So we
take matters into our own hands because we feel God has not come through for
us. We don’t want to admit this because we might look bad or maybe others may
not think we are really Christians, or for that matter even love God. I will be
the first to say that I love God, the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit and I
am a born-again believer but I have struggled in this area of control and
trust. At times the control and trust waxes and wanes but underneath it all, I
have struggled to make sense of some very difficult matters in my life. I hope
I am not alone in this. I have prayed for certain things, people, and desires
for years and sometimes they have become worse, and other times it is a slow trickle
to the desired outcome I want, and then there are those prayers and cries that
seem to go unnoticed. I said seemed to go unnoticed, because do our prayers
really go unnoticed or is it not the time or maybe something that would not be
in our best interest? I have so many questions, I am sure like you that I don’t
know the answers to. Such as the inability to have children, desiring to be
married, sickness of a child/family member, health issues, or even the pain a parent
feels for their prodigal child. I have felt many of these personally and I can
say for me that is why I developed a need to be in control, secure my future,
and to analyze my life because nothing seemed to be in control, so I took
control. I projected my future because I lived in fear. Fear of the unknown,
fear things will not get better, fear that it will always be this way. Fear
causes you to think and behave irrationally. Life seemed uncertain and unpredictable
to me so I had to take over and mange my life.
Taking life
as it comes and living in the present day is a great way to allow your fears to
take a backseat. Living in the past will also cause you great stress, so being
and living in the day you have is very healing. Why be anxious for the things
you truly do not know will or won’t happen, or why live in regret and past
failures? This is not easy to do if you have tried to control your life or try
and project possible outcomes of your future. This will not be easy, but let’s
start with surrendering. Surrendering all forms of control, figuring-out,
analyzing, and living in past regrets. This also entails trusting God with your
life and the lives of others you love. This step requires faith and letting-go.
If you live
one day at a time, God will supply you the grace you need for that day, to
handle the problems and situations that happen that day. However, you can’t
take today’s grace and store it for tomorrow. God supplies what you need for
that day, not on yesterday or tomorrow. Think about how stress-free you will
feel when you live in the present.
Therefore do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of
its own.
Matthew 6:34, NIV
Give your entire attention to what
God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not
happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when
the time comes.
Matthew 6:34, Message
Additional resources from author:
Online Christian Counseling: www.gospelguidance.com/adviors/5311-sreck
Natural herbal remedies for treating
depression, anxiety, etc. Go to my website@ www.christianhopecounseling.com
And click on Native Remedies link.
Trouble with negative thinking? Check out my
book, Wilderness Mentality Stop Your
Stinkin’ Thinkin @www.createspace.com/4036785