Is The Coronavirus Making You Feel Afraid Of The Future? Calm Your Fears With This Truth.
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Photo by James Hammond on Unsplash
During this crazy season of the coronavirus outbreak, I think we’re all asking some variation of the same question: What does the future hold?
We're wondering how long this pandemic—and the mandated social distancing—will last. We're wondering what will happen if we or our loved ones get sick. Many are wondering how long they will be out of work and how they will pay the bills. Together we're wondering: What’s going to happen next?
In light of these questions, this week I felt led to share a specific devotion. I actually wrote this devotion over a year ago, but I’ve never shared it on the blog, and it applies so perfectly to the uncertainty we’re all feeling right now. So I’m sharing it with you today.
I hope it encourages you to remember that as bad as some of the predictions are, as scary as the future might seem, God is bigger, God is good, and He has a good future in store for you.
I know many are going through really hard things right now, and I want you to know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Here's the devotion:
Smile At The Future
When I was a kid, I loved a little book called, “The Monster at the End of This Book.” The story features Grover, the blue puppet of Sesame Street fame. After reading the book’s title, Grover becomes fearful of meeting the monster at the end of the book. On every page, he begs the reader to stop turning pages, lest you finish the story and encounter the monster. Of course, I always turned the pages until I came to the end, where, indeed, there is a monster! But it turns out there is nothing to be afraid of—the monster at the end of the book is Grover himself.
Sometimes, I feel a bit like Grover. Not that I don’t want to move forward in life—I do. But there are moments when I get nervous about what might lie ahead, times when I feel anxious or apprehensive about what the future might hold. Like a bird in a net, my mind can get tangled in what ifs and ominous wonderings.
That’s not how I want to live, though. What I want is to be like is the woman described in Proverbs 31:25 who “can laugh at the days to come” (NIV). The New American Standard Bible says it this way: “she smiles at the future.”
I love how this woman so joyfully embraces life! But how can we follow her example when so much can go wrong?
I think one secret is found in Paul’s words to the Romans: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (8:28 NIV)
Not all things are good, but God is. Like the woman in Proverbs 31, we can laugh because we know who our God is, and we know that with Him everything—even the hard things—will be used for our benefit.
We don’t have to fear the future. There is no monster at the end of the book. God is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He goes before us and behind us. He is on every page of your story. He is good, and His plans for you are good. That’s something to smile at!
In purpose and faith,
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Are you feeling afraid of the future? What are you doing to hold on to hope and calm your fears? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!
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P.S.
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