"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
Revelation 21: 4 NKJV
This is the time of year where most people make predictions for the upcoming new year. I've tried to lay off that practice this year, for honestly I do not know where my life will soon take me. I've always thought that new year's resolutions were for those who seem to know exactly where they are headed in life. Yet, how many of us are indeed certain what tomorrow will bring? In a year that has shown us so much turmoil and confusion, can we honestly guarantee what the next will bring? Yet here we stand on the brink of a new day. If it be the desire of the Lord, I will find myself once again penning my thoughts on times passed 365 days from now. Once again, I'll put aside any predictions I feel that I need to be made known. One of my favorite times of day has always been sunrise. It is here, at the dawn of each new day, that we find a sense of renewal in a way. Gone are the events of the previous day and, unless we will ourselves to worry over past events, we will soon find that this new day has plenty of worries of its own. I have a saying that I have incorporated into my exercise regimen; "Tomorrow is another chance for me to do better." It may sound bland, but it's indeed true. In fact, I would take that a step further to say that tomorrow is another chance for ALL of us to do better. Now, do I know what tomorrow will bring? Not really. I can, however, make a educated guess as to what the day will be like, based on previous days. After all, that's all any of us can do, right? I can do terrible in one of my workouts and immediately declare that "Tomorrow I'll do better!" Do I know what tomorrow will bring for certain? No. So, what is it that keeps me going? What is it that makes me a so called "glass half full" kind of person? Well, a lot of my assurance comes from what I believe in my heart to be true. In a year of uncertainty and lockdowns, I've felt the pain of isolation as we all have. Yet I still remain true to what I believe, that better times are ahead. Why? Because I am not only the worlds worst pessimist, but I know in my heart that God remains on His throne. I know in my heart that nothing that has or will ever occur will happen apart from the Lords notice.
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they? "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'what shall we eat?' or 'what shall we drink?' or 'what shall we wear?' "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all of these things. "But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
Matthew 6: 25 - 34 NKJV
What is it that you suppose that Jesus ever worried about? Do you think that He ever worried or fretted about this, that of the other thing? I do. I believe that Jesus, being flesh as we are, indeed worried about whatever things a young Jewish boy or teenager would worry about. Can I imagine the worries that He might have had? Well, one can only speculate, but I'm sure that there were worries about His parents finances, His standing in the local community and just about every other thing a kid growing up worries about. We're told that Jesus indeed can sympathize with whatever it is that we are struggling with {Hebrews 4:14}. This is due to Jesus having been down that road before us. He is that trail blazer through life which each of us can follow and learn from. What did Jesus tell us about worry? Well, He warned us in a few places of the dangers of worrying about tomorrow. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus warns us not to worry about things as simple as food or clothing. Can this be because Jesus knew all too well what worry can do to a person? Did He Himself experience the negative effects of worry while growing up? I believe that He did. Therefore, Jesus would have known that worry is never in our best interests. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble {Matthew 6:34}. Taking this one step further, can Jesus ease our own worries today? Of course. If we trust in our hearts that it is Jesus who is now living through us as the apostle Paul recognized, then we have a real life relationship with Him {Galatians 2:20}. I know that whatever it is I am facing, Jesus has already been there and done that. I can trust that He will guide me through.
~Scott~
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