OH NO!.....Now What?

Most of us spend much, if not all, our time thinking and planning for the future. Some even have the future so detailed out that any little obstacle can create a serious panic. Oftentimes we panic about the future, not because we worry about what WILL happen; we tend to panic about what MIGHT happen. And we lose much sleep over things that ultimately never happen. If only we could focus more on today than tomorrow, without ignoring tomorrow. Or at least, without feeling afraid about what tomorrow MIGHT bring our way.

This was the fault of a certain rich man whose field had a great harvest. The harvest was so good, he ran out of space to store all his goods. He said, “What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?” (Luke 12.17) And he began to panic. With such a great harvest, he had enough to live a full and comfortable season, but he began to panic because he actually had too much. His panic caused him to lose focus on reality. “So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’” (Luke 12.18-19) Unfortunately, he didn’t know he was about to die, and he wasted his last moments of life in a panic about something that never mattered anyway, rather than preparing his soul to be with God.

How many times do you worry about the future, panic even, just because you’re not sure what tomorrow will bring. To be sure, NOBODY knows the future. The challenge is to live today, and appreciate the blessings you have today. Tomorrow will come and there isn’t really anything you can do to change the future. So stop trying. “But seek the first the kingdom of God,” eventually everything else just falls into place.