How does God provide for us? One day at a time. Do you remember the Israelites in the wilderness? God fed them faithfully each day by sending manna from heaven. But some of them wanted to make sure they’d have enough for tomorrow, revealing their lack of trust in God, so they gathered more. But God would only allow them to collect enough for each day; when they tried to collect more the leftovers rotted. When we worry over the future or things we can do nothing about, it’s like trying to store up manna for tomorrow. Before we know it, we feel terrible. God wants us to give tomorrow’s concerns to Him because they’re too big for us to deal with on our own. When we think too far ahead, we can become overwhelmed and our mind’s start on the ‘what ifs?’ What if I get hurt or become ill, or I fail my exams and can’t find a job? What if people don’t like or accept me? What if I can’t find someone to love me and I end up alone? What if I think God’s telling me something when He isn’t, and I make a big mistake? We can end up imagining the worst-case scenarios. Paul says, ‘Cast it down.’ If we don’t, we’ll live in dread and fear about things that haven’t happened – and probably never will. Worrying can take up so much of our time. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Let’s see this year as a chance to give our worries over to God, relax, and let God be God in your life.
What Now?
Every time a ‘what if’ comes into your head this week, say to yourself ‘even if…God will still be God’ and see how your perspective begins to change.