Trust God – View From My Shoes

Three Essentials

If I could only tell someone three things about God, this is what they would be.

Recently Scott and I went on a super quick, unexpected overnight trip. We had nothing planned other than to just get out of town. Time to pack did not exist. I first and foremost grabbed my toothbrush. I also threw in a change of clothes, and snatched up my book bag on the way out the door. Despite the rushed exit, it was one of our most relaxing getaways ever, and I had the essentials I needed.

If I only had a few minutes to tell someone about Jesus, what three things would I tell them? Knowing I didn’t have time to plan and outline the whole story starting with Adam and Eve, through Abraham and into the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, not to leave out all the wonderful stories of the old testament and the new testament church, what would I tell someone?

You are loved!

You are loved with a vast love that is impossible to completely understand. Ephesians 3:18-19 tells us, “ May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God”

You may not feel lovable, you may not have experienced the love you are worthy of in past relationships, but God’s love is real and is there for you. That is the first concept I would want everyone to hear. Just like having my toothbrush is essential for an overnight stay, knowing that God loves you is the linchpin to understanding Him. He made you uniquely just the way you are and loves you unconditionally. You are designed by Him for His purpose.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;” Psalms 139:14

God Loves YOU!!!

You are forgiven!

No matter what ugly darkness is in your past, you will be forgiven if you ask. 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

God is so willing to forgive us. His word tells us over and over again that our sins will be forgiven. Not just forgiven, Isaiah 55:7 says they are generously forgiven. Colossians 2:13-15 says the record is cancelled for ALL of our sins. Hebrews 8:12 says our sins will never be remembered again. I don’t know why, but accepting that God has forgiven us is sometimes easier than forgiving, ourselves?

Last week I made an extremely selfish decision. I was disappointed in myself. I confessed; I know I’m forgiven. Unfortunately, I’ve had to repent for this before which is so humiliating. Here I am doing it again. I keep reliving that moment and wishing I could go back and redo that extremely selfish moment. I am forgiven; it is in the past. I know that. Yet, I am still struggling to let it go. There is freedom in forgiveness. We have to step into that and trust we are forgiven as well as forgive ourselves.

I pray that you can accept your forgiveness and give yourself the grace that God has so generously given us.

You are not alone!

This journey of life is hard. I look around and see the hurt and loss that people have to suffer through, and my heart breaks. The good news is, we don’t have to live life alone; God is ALWAYS with us. Yes, even in those times when I would lie in bed thinking I had to get these tears to stop or my face would be a swollen mess the next day. Yes, even when problems were flying at me faster than I could count and many with no foreseeable answers. God was with me. God’s quiet, unintrusive Spirit is always there.

He doesn’t stand up and yell, wave his hands and say, “Look, I’m over here.” No, He is the calm that can be felt when you stop and take a deep breath. He is the peace that is under all the chaos. He is there just as he promised, patiently waiting to be recognized. We have to learn to look for Him, but He is there, and His Spirit will guide you.

“This is my command – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you where you go.” Joshua 1:9

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.” John 14:16

“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” Hebrews 13:5

Right now, stop and take a deep breath. Sit in quiet stillness with God and know you are loved, you are forgiven and you are not alone.

Tell God What, Not How.

God wants to hear from us, but he also wants us to trust him because He knows best. What does that look like?

Recently, at the close of a meeting, a roofer friend of mine lightheartedly requested prayer for a “good” hail storm. I immediately spoke up that I wasn’t praying for any kind of hail storm. He added that his business simply needed one good hail storm. I countered that not only would I not pray for his hail storm, I was going to pray against it like we were playing a game of prayer connect four and I could block his prayers. After some back and forth, I somewhat jokingly conclude with, “I guess we will see who God listens to.”

While this conversation was friendly banter, not a real conversation about prayer, there are some prayer questions that come to light from this conversation.

One, God hears all of our prayers equally. He already knows what we need and is waiting for us to talk to him about it. Jesus tells the disciples in Matthew 6:8, “For your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” and in Psalms 34:17 God’s word tells us, “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;” Even if one person is praying for a sunny day and another one is praying for rain, God hears both of them.

In complete selfishness, I have prayed against others before. I can remember a time my late husband, Jeff, was praying to get a different job, and I was praying that he wouldn’t get it because I didn’t want to move. God knew the desires of both of our hearts, and He undoubtedly heard both of our prayers. So what does God do? Eenie, meenie, miney, mo? NO!

We are 100% expected to be specific in our prayers and requests with what we need or desire. God wants to hear from us about our concerns and our needs. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for what He has done,” Philippians 4:6. The problem is, instead of telling God what we need, we tell him how to do it. He wants to know our needs and our desires, but we need to leave the way our prayers are answered up to him.

Tell God your what, but leave the how up to Him!

Yes, pray that your child will return to the Lord, but let the Holy Spirit work his divine plan. Yes, pray and let God know you need financial help, but let God take care of how your financial needs are met. His plans are so much better than our plans. Proverbs 16:9 “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” Instead of praying for a hail storm, just communicate your business needs to the Lord. Let Him know the struggles, then let Him go to work.

“‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

Look at how Jesus modeled this for us in Matthew 6, the example prayer given at the request of the disciple seeking to learn how to pray like Jesus. In this model prayer, Jesus asks for daily bread; he tells God his need. Take note however, he doesn’t tell God how to provide the daily bread. When my late husband and I were praying for God to enact our contrasting plans, God knew what was best for our family and what we needed more than either one of us could possibly predict. I wish I would have been mature enough to pray for God to provide Jeff with a job he loved and take care of our family how he saw best.

Try it right now. Tell God your needs; tell him your fears. Now, put your faith and trust in Him to do for you what is best.

Understanding Trust in an Untrustworthy World

What is trust? Trust is believing that something or someone is reliable and true.

Who do you trust? What do you believe to be reliable and true? Personally it gets harder and harder for me to trust anything I hear or read. A couple of weeks ago, Scott and I were watching a news event. For the fun of it, we started flipping back and forth between two different news stations. You couldn’t even tell that they were covering the same event because their reporting was so drastically different. How do you know which one to believe, which one to trust, or can you trust either one?

Oh, let’s talk about social media or just the internet in general. I get these crazy ads on my feed. “My skin has never looked better.” picturing a lady who is supposedly 60 years old, with skin that looks 20. You used to be able to say, “if you can see it, you can believe it.” Not anymore. There is no way I believe that photo is real. I don’t even know that Google is trustworthy. One day it says eat more fruit. The next day you search and read that fruit has too much sugar and shouldn’t be eaten. Who knows?

While helping Blakelynn learn to ride her bike, she would constantly remind me that I promised to not let go. She struggled to trust that I would keep my word. consequently, I had every intention of letting go as soon as she was balanced. No wonder we grow up and have trust issues.

We have become conditioned to question everything, trusting very little.

Let me tell you, God and his Word can be trusted. Yes, when you hear someone describe God, it is easy to doubt or wonder because it sounds too good to be true. A God who loves us, who sent his son to take on the sin of the world. A compassionate God who provides grace and mercy. A God of hope, joy, and peace. (1 John 4:16, John 3:16, Luke 6:36, Hebrews 4:16, Romans 15:13) I could keep going. There is no way to succinctly summarize the greatness of God. Just listing some of my favorite attributes, begins to start sounding like one of those impossible to believe social media ads. God’s goodness and power is not a fake ad. It is real.

The disciples spent three years with Jesus. He told them explicitly that he would die, but would rise again in three days. However, even when the disciples went to Galilee, the designated meeting place, there was doubt. Matthew 28:16, “Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him – but some of them doubted!” How could they doubt? They just saw the resurrected Jesus in person.

God is too much for our human minds to understand. So, if you find yourself doubting that God’s word or promises are real, you are not alone, but don’t linger on those thoughts. Don’t let those thoughts take root. When you start to wonder if God could love you, trust that you are worthy. When you wonder if God hears your prayers, trust that he does, and keep praying. When you wonder if God could use you, the answer is YES! When you have doubts, go to his word; find a scripture that holds the truth you need, and put his word on repeat in your mind.

“God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it out?” Numbers 23:19

Again, we cannot understand God. He is more than we can understand, but we can trust him.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And lean not on your own understanding In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.

Keep Your Focus: Find Peace in God

Focus is hard in this crazy, busy world. It is important to keep our focus on Christ so we can remain standing.

Scott and I have this old person exercise routine that we try to do every morning. It is a little bit of stretching, some strengthening, then we end by balancing for 1 minute on each foot before getting off the floor in one smooth movement without using our hands. It really isn’t much, but it makes us feel like we are taking care of ourselves. When we first started trying various balance poses, Scott was having a hard time holding his for a full minute. As I turn everything into a competition, I was enjoying watching him struggle. I don’t know why, but I did advise him that if he would pick one spot on the floor right in front of him and not look away, he would be able to hold it longer. It worked. Now he can often hold longer than I can.

It is so bizarre. Try it. If you are balancing on one foot and move your eyes to check out the TV or to check the time on the clock, you are more likely to fall than when you keep your focus on one spot the entire time.

The same can be said about our lives and where we put our focus. Hebrews 12:2 tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus.” As long as we are focused on Jesus, reading His word, praising His name, seeking after Him, it is easier to remain standing than when we focus on the circumstances around us. Easier than when we focus on what others have that we don’t. Easier than when we focus on how hard life can be, or focus on times our prayers weren’t answered the way we wanted. All of those distractions cause us to lose our balance.

One of my favorite scriptures that I stand on often is Philippians 4:6-7. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Let’s break this down.

1. Focus on Christ by praying about everything. Tell him what you need and continuously thank him for what he has done. This is a living daily focused on Christ.

2. When we do this, we experience peace – a peace that no one can explain or understand. A peace that comes only from God. I have personally experienced this unexplainable peace at various times in my life when everything was in chaos, but inside, I had peace. I didn’t have answers nor did the situation change, but I had peace.

3. This peace guards our hearts and minds. God’s peace guards us against anxiety, it guards us against fretting. We don’t have to live in a state of panic because our hearts and minds are protected when we put our focus in the right place – Jesus.

I have been in a couple of meetings recently that created a great deal of stress. I could feel it in my body. My thoughts were all over the place, but mostly full of anger with fantasies of just spouting out every mean thing I could think onto people involved. I wasn’t the person I want to be.

I began to practice the steps above. Not like a magic incantation, but as a way of changing my thoughts. I began to thank the Lord for all the wonderful amazing things He has done in my life. I was honest with God that I needed help and wisdom. Not like magic, but I am better. I’m in a place where I have confidence with who I am, not what others say about me. I know who my provider is, and I know that I am a child of God. My perspective is changed because my focus is changed. I’m not focused on me. I’m focused on the Lord who through David tells us in Psalm 16:8, “I keep my eyes ALWAYS on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” (NIV)

This isn’t a practice to only walk through when battles are raging. It is a way of life. Try it.

P.S. Let me know if you try standing on one leg. I want to hear how it works for you. I would also love to hear how you stay focused on Christ in your life.

I Can’t vs I Won’t: Looking at the Samaritan Woman

My dad was quite the handyman. In my mind there wasn’t anything he couldn’t fix. I often had projects that I wanted him to do. He would either quickly and gladly do It for me, or simply tell me it couldn’t be done. In other words, it was a bigger project than he wanted to take on. It was a family joke that when dad said it couldn’t be done, it just meant he didn’t want to do it.

I think about phrases that I catch myself saying such as, “I can’t get up early and workout.” That isn’t true. I can get up early; I just don’t. “I can’t eat just a few chips.” Again, not true. I have the ability to put the bag away and stop. I just don’t. I’m sure you have some of these statements in your life as well.

I want to take these statements and talk about the “Woman at the Well” in John 4. This is a story most are familiar with. The disciples had gone into town to get food, and Jesus stopped at a well. While he was there, a Samaritan woman come to the well. Short version of the story, Jesus not only told her all about her life, but offered her Living Water. She met Jesus there and knew he was the Messiah.

What I want to look at is what she did next. She could have kept that experience to herself, but she didn’t. Verse 28-30, “Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to town and said to the people, ‘Come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?’ They came out of the town and made their way toward him.”

We can’t know the thoughts of the Samaritan Woman, only her actions. But thinking about what thoughts she might have experienced, they include thoughts with the word cannot. I cannot tell anyone about this because no one will believe me. I cannot tell anyone because of all that has happened in my past. I cannot tell anyone, because I might look foolish. I could list many more thoughts that might have crossed her mind based on my personal experience. Probably the thought I have believed the most is, “I cannot tell anyone because I don’t want to offend them.” These are not statements of can’t. They are statements of won’t. Once we have been with Jesus, we should naturally want to tell people. Saying that we can’t isn’t true. We are choosing not to.

Whatever feelings were had by the Samaritan Woman, she put them aside and ran into town to tell everyone. The evidence of her actions is found in verse 39. “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.” Because she told others about her experience with Jesus, many came to know him.

What is God asking you to do? When you spend time in the word and in prayer, do you have notions or ideas of actions you should take but instead of taking moving forward, you say, “I can’t do that?”

Often when I have concerns, they aren’t necessarily that I don’t want to do something, but Satan gets in my head and tells me that I can’t. I hear, “You can’t write.” I hear, “You don’t know the Bible well enough to write about it. You will make a theological mistake.” These thoughts cause me to think that I can’t, so it becomes I won’t.

Let’s work on this together. If the Samaritan Woman can run into town and tell everyone about the man she just met, we can do what God is asking us to do.

Navigating Life: Listening to the Holy Spirit

Jesus promised us a helper who would guide us in life. Are you paying attention to your navigator?

Scott and I spent almost 40 hours in the car over my last break. We listened to podcasts, sang some tunes, read, and had great conversations about future plans. We love time together in the car. Scott drives twice as much as I do, but I take my turn every now and then so he can get a break. As I was driving on a section of the road that I almost always drive where we transition from I30 to I49 at Texarkana, Scott nonchalantly ask if that factory looked familiar to me. I kinda shrugged it off and kept talking. After a quiet pause, Scott casually asked another question. “Do you think you are on the right road?” Without much thought I answered, “of course. This is how we always go.” For the third time, Scott calmly stated, “I think we are going north.” You can guess, that I denied that was even a possibility until Scott motioned to the compass on the rear view mirror and pointed out that we were in fact going north. I still don’t know how or where I made the wrong turn, but I obviously did.

Sometimes in life, we do the same. We are traveling down the road of life: living, surviving, keeping our head just above water while possibly unknowingly making a wrong turn. It could be a seemingly insignificant decision, behavior or habit, and we might not even realize this action is placing us on the wrong path. However, the Holy Spirit is quietly pointing out to us that we need to change or we need to adjust priorities. It may not even be a mistake. It may just be the Holy Spirit quietly, discreetly nudging us to change paths. “And when he (Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment ….When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” John 16:8 & 13.

Change is hard. Personally, once I recognize something needs to change, it usually takes multiple attempts and lots of prayer to get there. It’s not like driving down the highway and a simple U-turn gets your problem fixed. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit keeps whispering in my ear and God is there to provide strength and a path to help me get back on the right road.

Again change is hard, but just think what would have happened if Scott hadn’t been paying attention and noticed that I made a wrong exit? I would have kept going north for possibly miles before realizing I was going the wrong direction. Not only should we listen to the small nudge from the Holy Spirit, but be thankful for it. Listen and make the change as soon as you can.

Another thought, change is easier with a friend. Find someone you can trust and let them know what is on your heart. Ask them to help either by providing support or by providing accountability. Three verses come to my mind that confirm this is a good practice. I included them at the end. Yes, God is there and will give you all you need, but that just might be in the form of a friend.

Finally, consider that you might be the friend who someone else needs to help them get on the right path and stay there. Pray that God will help you be that person.

Scriptures:

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” Romans 12:2

“God is at work in us.” Philippians 2:13

“Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.” James 5:16

Enjoy the Present Season

Christmas can be full of joy or full of pain and hurt. Make it the best possible by choosing to be present.

Wellness is a topic we hear about frequently. At work we are actually taking the eight dimensions of wellness, and looking at a separate component each month. As I was putting up Christmas decorations last weekend and going through all of the emotions involved there, I was reminded of the importance of being present which is a piece of emotional wellness.

We know the importance of being present. Psalm 118:24 tells us “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” There is a need to focus on the here and now and there are many tools that can help us do that such a journaling, meditation…. What I want to write about instead of the act of being present is what being present is NOT.

Being present is NOT dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. This was particularly hard for me this year as I was decorating. Every ornament I pulled out of the box, every item that I sat on a shelf, every stocking that I hung, brought back a memory tied to a Christmas of the past. Christmases with my grandma and all of my cousins packing around the “kids” table out in the back washroom. Christmases when my children were at home and helped me decorate the tree. The list and memories go on and on causing me to not be satisfied with what Christmas looks like now, this year, because it doesn’t look like what it used to.

For me, spending time thinking about the past Christmases brings fond memories that I deeply miss and wish I could recreate. For others, when you are dwelling on the past, you may be experiencing thoughts of regret. Maybe it is regret over things you said or did. Maybe Christmases in your past bring up memories of deep hurt. As you continue to roll through these memories and thoughts on repeat, you recreate anger, hurt, or all the feelings of the past that keep you from enjoying your today.

Christmas is a special season. Not only a season to celebrate with family, but also a season to give special recognition to the fact that God sent his son to earth to die on the cross so that we can be redeemed and be forgiven of our sins.

Whether memories are joyful or painful, we cannot let our minds stay in the past. You cannot focus on the present, when you are reliving the past. The same is true if you are worried about what next year will look like. Thinking about what could have been or what might have been doesn’t create joy or honor what God desires for us. We have to be present with what is right now. While my heart aches for the Christmases of the past, I choose to live and enjoy the Christmases of today.

As your mind wonders from the present, bring it back into focus by giving praise to God for the gift he gave us. Colossians 3:2, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.” Get busy living and quit using all of your thought time to dwell on the past or worry about the future. Use that energy to make this year special and to make a difference for God this season.

If you’re thoughts this season are heavier than in the past or there is a sadness you cannot shake, do not be too ashamed to seek help. If you just need a reminder to focus your thoughts on the good of today, read Ecclesiastes 3. Write out Ecclesiastes 3:11 & 12. Put it on your bathroom mirror, put it in your car. Hide it in your heart to remember to enjoy this year’s Christmas season.

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I conclude there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can.” Ecclesiastes 3: 11& 12.

Trust God vs Doing it Yourself

Why do we try to solve our own problems instead of just trusting God? This is what He desires.

When Scott and I are driving somewhere new, we take completely opposite approaches. If I have any sort of idea where I’m going, I’m determined to find the location on my own. This often involves a U-turn or two. I use Google Maps only when I finally realize I cannot find the location, or if I’m going to be late because I keep backtracking. Scott on the other hand will use Google Maps right from the start. He has no problem trusting the map and letting it guide him. He just plugs in the address and heads to his destination without any worries. I however try to rely on my own skills. Grant it, this often resorts in honking horns as I abruptly change lanes or undue stress because I’m at the wrong place. Frequently I end up using the map despite my best efforts.

We have the same options when it comes to trusting God with our lives. Many times as Christians we feel we need to do it on our own. Maybe it is the theory that I got myself into this mess, I can get myself out. Maybe it is if I work hard enough, I can make this happen. If I keep pouring into this relationship, it will get better. I have to fix this before anyone finds out. Honestly, it can be any problem you are facing. We try to figure it out ourselves instead of trusting God. Otherwise, we wait until we have tried it ourselves and are out of options. Only then do we decide to reach out and ask God for help.

Proverbs 3:5-6 tell us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” This Proverb tells us not only should we trust God instead of ourselves, but when we do, He will direct our paths. Just like the time and stress I could save by using a map, we can save ourselves heartache and costly mistakes. We also experience a lack of peace that wouldn’t be necessary if we acknowledge God by trusting our problem to Him. We must let go and trust Him.

Right now ask yourself, what are you trying to do yourself that needs to be turned over and trusted to God? What is keeping you up at night or always on your mind because you are working around the clock to solve a problem that God wants to help you solve? Take that problem and place it in this this verse. Make it a personal prayer.

I trust in you Lord with all of my heart to _________. I am not leaning on myself, but calling out to you so you can direct my path.

Refuge or Strength – God’s got you Covered

Choosing your battles is hard. There are some battles worth fighting and some that are not yours to fight.

First of all, the hummingbird picture has nothing to do with this blog other than he was buzzing around all morning while I was reading and then while I was writing this blog, so I thought I would include him.

When my kids were growing up, one of the biggest decisions I had to make was what to ignore and what to take up as an issue. Looking back, I probably could have let more go than I did. Why was I so dogmatically insistent that they brush their teeth every single night no matter what? Did I think missing one night would cause all of their teeth would fall out, or that they wouldn’t brush their teeth as an adult if I let one night slip by? When they were teenagers, I learned to let it go that a week’s worth of clothes were on the floor. It just wasn’t worth the fight. However, when we reached the point that we were out of cereal bowls because they were all in my son’s room, that had to be addressed.

The same is true as a leader. What battles do I need to stand up and fight compared to what battles do I need to duck and cover because they will run their course and be short lived. Neither option is easy. Taking up the battle and addressing a problem head on is hard and takes courage. It is equally hard to let something go even though you know that it is a temporary problem, not worth the energy or the repercussions of making it a big deal.

In Psalm 46:1 when the psalmist wrote that God is our refuge and our strength, look, he is telling us God is there for either situation. He is there to be our refuge, our shelter, when we need to hunker down and ride out the storm or when we need to stay in the bunker of God’s refuge and let God fight the battle. Conversely, God is our strength when we find our self on the front line in what might feel like hand-to-hand combat.

Whether you are in the middle of a storm with your health or enduring a challenge at work that is out of your control, rest assured and rest in God’s refuge. Furthermore, if you are fighting for your marriage or fighting against an addiction, fight, and fight hard, knowing that God will provide the strength that you need. No matter your situation or what you need, God is our ever-present help when needed.

Prepared for Tomorrow

I try to prepare for tomorrow, but I have to put tomorrow in God’s hands.

The last thing I do every evening before I leave the office is check my calendar for the next day. I just want to make sure I know what the next day holds. I check to make sure that if I have a meeting, I am prepared for that meeting. I check to see if I need to send out any reminders. Most importantly, I check to see what dress attire will be needed according to what is on my calendar and whether I need to pack a lunch or if I will be out of the office at lunch time. When I leave the office each evening, I want to be fully prepared for the next day so I don’t have to think about it once I have left.

The bible speaks to the importance of being prepared and working hard. Bluntly saying in Proverbs 10:4 that “lazy men are soon poor,” and even making references to how the ants work in the summer to prepare for the winter (Proverbs 6:6-8). It is important that I am prepared for the day in front of me, but what is equally important that once I am prepared, I put that behind me and go home. I don’t spend my evening worrying about what tomorrow may hold. I cannot be 100% prepared for tomorrow because I can’t know everything that will happen tomorrow.

Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” This verse is found at the end of the chapter where Jesus is telling the multitudes not to worry about where their next meal or clothing will come from because God feeds the birds and clothes the lilies of the field. While it is important to prepare, you cannot get caught up with worry and anxiety about tomorrow. Continually worrying about “what if” will rob you of the peace God has intended for you. Learning to do your part to be prepared and then turning everything else over to God is not easy. However, I can tell you without any hesitation that God is trustworthy, and he will take care of your tomorrows.