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Have you been slammed with yet another jolt in life? Makes you wonder what tomorrow holds, doesn't it? Have you ever asked, "What else could possibly go wrong?!"
Sometimes life throws us curve balls that have us fearing tomorrow rather than loving it. (My apologies to Orphan Annie.)
A little song that I play for my two-year-old granddaughter convicts me:
Are you humbly grateful, or grumbly hateful?
What's your attitude?
Do you grumble and groan, or let it be known
You're grateful for all God's done for you?
No matter what is going on in life, we still have so many blessings for which to thank God. I woke up this morning with a roof over my head, a furnace heating my home, warm blankets, a warm shower, a loving husband, and a host of other blessings!
Whenever I enjoy a hot shower, God seems to bring to my mind all the persecuted Christians around the world who are in prison, have spent time in prison or concentration camps for their faith, or who just don't have the amenities we have in our western world. He reminds me of two things: 1.) to pray for the persecuted believers around the world, and 2.) to be grateful for the riches I have.
I may not be rich by this world's standards. I don't live in a mansion, or even a newly built home. I don't have endless money to spend. There are problems in my life that I wish weren't there. There are relationships in my life that I wish were better. But I am rich!
The church of Laodicea was rebuked of God because they were lukewarm. Why were they considered lukewarm? God said,
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: ~ Revelation 3:17
Does God want me to grovel? No. But He does want me to see that without Him, I am nothing. Because He wants me to rely completely on Him, and realize that everything I have is from Him.
What in the world does this have to do with fearing tomorrow? When I see life through the gratefulness lens, I don't fear tomorrow, because I have the assurance that God, the Almighty, my Creator, the Lover of my soul, has everything planned, purposed, and under control. When I see Him as a loving heavenly Father, a perfect one, I can lean back in His arms and trust that everything He is allowing--and will ever allow--in my life is for a perfect plan and purpose. That it's all for my good. That one day I will understand it all. It will all make sense.
The late Corrie ten Boom used the illustration of a cross-stitch piece. On earth, we only see the underside of the cross-stitch of our lives: all tangles and knots, not pretty. When we get to heaven, we will see the beauty of the top side: the completed cross-stitch He has made of everything in our lives. Then we will know why and we will be eternally grateful for all that He did allow--even the uglies--to make something so beautiful of our lives.
Fear not tomorrow! God is already there!
