Week Twenty - What's Next?

Do you ever lay in bed wondering what in the world is going on? How this is all going to work out? What will be next? Sometimes I do, but then my Lord reminds me to faithfully take one day at a time. It's not my job to figure out the future - that's His. My job is to use today wisely and let Him take care of the rest. 

Facing the cross, Jesus left us a pertinent example here. How did He endure the cross and the apprehension? No doubt He knew each painful step along the way. He knew the cost and experienced His own level of trepidation. Elizabeth George says, "Our Lord did not halt all activity to brood over what was to come. He was not incapacitated by the fear of suffering, though he well knew that fear. To the question, 'What shall I do?' (which is so often our cry of despair), he simply answered, "This," and did what lay in his path to do at the moment, trusting himself completely into the hands of the Father. This is how he endured the cross."

And when we begin to wonder what is next, this is how we can endure life and its struggle - one day at a time, doing the next right thing. Will we be tempted to fret and worry? Probably. Will we experience a level of fear? No doubt. But neither of those things need to keep us from continuing forward. Elizabeth Elliot said, "Sometimes fear does not subside, and one must choose to do it afraid."

Here's what I have found. When I sense fear gripping my heart from looking at the things around me, I change my gaze. I mentally make my world much smaller and secure by focusing only on what I can humanly accomplish by God's grace each day. You see, none of us can control world politics. None of us can manage all of the relationships around us. But we can, by using the spiritual fruit of temperance, control ourselves. We can avoid being incapacitated by fear of the future by doing the next right thing.

It might sound simplistic, but the more you learn about the Lord, the more you know He desires nothing more from you than simple faith. That is how you please Him. That is how His peace resonates in your heart. It is by faith. And what you will find is that He is also faithful. He will meet you as you turn to Him and give you the strength, wisdom, and calmness you need to keep moving forward.

So today, let's stop surmising and ruminating over the 'what ifs' of life and focus our energy and faith into the day the Lord has given. I think you'll find His love and comfort waiting for you there!