376. Fear of the Future (Fear)

Fear of the future often reveals a heart that wants certainty more than trust. In this episode, we consider how anxiety about tomorrow exposes our struggle to rest in God’s sovereignty, goodness, and daily care. Looking to Scripture, we are reminded that God has not called us to carry tomorrow’s burdens today, but to walk by faith in the grace He gives for the present moment. If you’ve been weighed down by “what ifs,” this episode will help re-anchor your heart in the unchanging character of God.

Transcript

Why The Future Feels Scary

Control And The Trap Of Tomorrow

Future Grace And Daily Mercy

God Sees Ahead And Stays Near

Questions To Refocus Your Mind

Conference Invite And Closing

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Okay, welcome to the Thursday. Pastor K is PastorBod at AlmightyBod.org in this server to help you in the worship of Almighty God each day. Well, tonight on Wednesday night, I'm recording this on my cell phone tonight. I had a long, long good day of ministering as it's come to a close, and so I'm not firing up my studio tonight. So hopefully the quality will be okay for you. Wanted to make sure that I care for you with the Word of God each day faithfully. We continue our series on fear and we're going to look at fear of the future. There's something about the future that unsettles us. Not because we know what's coming, but because we don't. We ask questions like, what if things don't work out? Or what if I fail? What if something happens to the people I love? And before long our minds are no longer anchored in truth, they're drifting in uncertainty. Fear of the future is really a struggle with the C word control. We want clarity, we want guarantees, we want to know that everything will be okay. But God in his wisdom rarely gives us the full picture. Instead, he gives us himself. In Matthew six, Jesus speaks directly into our anxious thoughts. Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Jesus doesn't deny that tomorrow has trouble. He simply reminds us we are not meant to carry it today. Well, friend, fear grows when we live in a tomorrow God has not yet given grace for. I was telling somebody the other day that I remember in a spot I was listening to John Piper when I was in college, and yes, I was listening to a cassette tape, if some of you know what that is. He was preaching a sermon on his book. Um he's preaching through Future Grace, a wonderful book that John Piper wrote. It's about 456 pages or so, and it is fantastic. I've read it two or three times. It's really great. And what he was saying is that God doesn't give us all the grace for all of our life in one day. And we should trust him that he will be there with his future grace. Scripture consistently brings us back to this truth. God meets us in the present. And limitations three, as we just said, we're told his mercies are new every morning, not all at once, not stockpiled for a lifetime, as I said, but daily mercy for daily needs. And this is where fear begins to lose its grip. Because the future is not unknown to God. In Isaiah 46, 10, he declares that he knows the end from the beginning. There's not a moment ahead of you, friend, that God has not already seen, not already ordained, not already prepared grace for. So the question becomes Will I trust God with what I cannot see, with what I don't know? Fear says, What if? Faith says, even if even if things don't go as I planned, even if the path is hard, even if I don't understand, God will still be there. He will be there with us. One of the most grounding promises comes from Psalm 23. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. It's that we never walk it alone. Friend, we all struggle with fear. Um I've struggled with it all of my life in different ways, and sometimes I really wonder what's gonna happen this week or how's this gonna go? And on my best days, I'm just thankful for the grace that God's given me that particular day and seek to pray and live moment by moment each day of my life. Friend, where is your mind drifting ahead of God right now? What what if is feeding your fear? And what would it look like to trust God with today and leave tomorrow in his hands? May we trust the one who is faithful to complete the work that he has begun in us. Friend, thank you for joining me on Moments of Worship. I want to mention the Abiding God conference coming to Bethel Baptist Church on May the 2nd. I know it's a good ways away, but uh, we'd love to have you register for that. You can go to abidinggod.org for more information. We would love to have you great deep content on the nature and character of God for minute sessions and breakout sessions with great speakers and great topics and worship teams with questions from other churches that are joining us. It's gonna be great. I'd love to have you there. It's the 27th of Forever and Worship Jesus Christ. Thanks for the thing.