4/3/2023

Are you anxious about the future?

Francois de Fenelon, in seventeenth-century France, wrote: “The future is not yet yours; it may

never be. Live in the present moment. Tomorrow’s grace is not given to you today. The present moment is the only place where you can touch the eternal realm.”

What if instead of being anxious about the future, you would commit to do what God wants you to do in the present—to live more and more fully like Jesus, to love more and more like Jesus? What would that look like for you? What difference would that make in the way you actually live? Would that put you in the place where you could in reality touch the eternal realm?

If you are continually anxious about the future, that’s a sign that the trust you have in Christ is not yet life-transforming. What if instead you choose to refuse to picture a future without God’s love, grace and care for you? What if instead of fearing the unknown you would more fully trust in the God who has promised he will never abandon or forsake you?

Jesus understands when you feel overwhelmed by your circumstances and your responsibilities. Jesus understands about your fears for the future. Hebrews 4:15-16 says: “Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin!  So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved grace, and we will find help.”

So, when you are anxious, seek out the presence of Jesus. Come bravely before God, believing

you will find the grace and help you do not deserve but which the Lord freely offers you anyway. In doing so, remember that God does not exist to implement all your plans and fulfill all your dreams. God calls you to a life that finds meaning and joy in his purposes which produce much greater results than simply your own comfort and happiness. Trust in the Lord in all things and accept God’s peace and seek to live fully in whatever the next moment requires of you in living a Jesus-like life.

Amy Simpson writes: “When the future seems threatening, imagine the worst and make peace

with it as a possibility—but at the same time, recognize that it’s probably unlikely. Also

recognize that your worrying can’t prevent it. Then look at it in the light of God’s promises.

Even if the worst happen, he’ll be with you and will grant you a kind of strength you won’t know until you need it.”

-Michael