Of the many negative effects that comes from listening to and watching the news, especially the recent events in our nation, there are often various levels of concerned feelings that people experience. Our hearts can become doubtful, gloomy, worrisome, and right out fearful. People fear all kinds of things.
Some fears that people have in life are really very trivial, and somewhat meaningless and petty. But then there are other fears, more substantial fears. Fears about things that are considerably more important, and more significant. *Not that fear is ever merited, not for God’s children, but many people often waste time worrying over things that don’t matter.
Fear is one of the most common, yet damaging, emotions that we can experience. And I believe that fear is one of the two most important emotions to control and conquer in life. The other is guilt. Of the various things people get stressed out over, it very often has something to do with these two things. It’s amazing to me how the past, present, and future all seem to stay connected together, forming one panoramic view of our lives.
We more so experience guilt over our past. But we experience fear over our future. The bottom line is that both guilt and fear can paralyze us. We even combine the two, which presents an even deadlier and more dangerous emotional experience. *We fear that what we did in the past, which we feel guilt over, is going to have a negative influence on our future. Yet, I believe that it is FEAR that is really the most important thing in our lives to conquer. Why?
Because when a person feels guilty over the past, they are worrying over things that are out of their control. But when they fear the future, they are letting that emotion cause them to lose the control they have! You cannot change your past. It is what it is, even if it’s not what you want it to be. *But if your future is going to be any better than your past, if you have any hope of making it what you want it to be, then you’re going to have to overcome that fear of the future.
That fear of the future produces a great deal of stress in our lives. We don’t know what the future holds, but we do know who holds the future. People fear a lot of different things, and they fear a lot of different things about the future.
One worry is that you will be left alone in the future. That you will be abandoned, deserted, by yourself and having to face the future on your own. That’s a legitimate worry that many people have.
Another worry is that you won’t know what to do when you get to the future because it will be new and different. You won’t know what to do in the uncharted waters.
A third worry is that you won’t have what you need in the future. You may lack the resources or the talent or whatever. You won’t have what you need in the future.
Another is the fear that you will be hurt somehow by someone or something in the future and you won’t be able to handle that pain and you worry.
And then there’s simply the worry that you may not make it to the future, that it will be too tough, too rough. That you won’t have the strength to make it.
The good news is that worry is an optional misery. You don’t have to worry. It’s not forced on you. Every time you worry, you’re choosing to do it. This is one area where we, who are believers in Jesus Christ, have a distinct and definite advantage over unbelievers. When you know God and His Word, you know you don’t need to worry.
As opposed to someone who doesn’t have God in their life, who is not a Christian, we know, that God knows everything in advance. God knows the future. God’s been in the future, in the past, and in the present. Nothing is ever going to surprise God, disappoint God, or catch Him off guard. He already knows everything that’s going to happen in my life.
And the Bible tells us that, because of that truth, God has made some incredible promises regarding our future. There are over 7000 promises in the Bible. Thousands of promises. Many of them have to do with your future. We want to look at just five of them. Five promises of God. And in these precious promises lies the bedrock of assurance that can reveal to us and remind us, that we do not have to fear the future. We don’t have to worry about the future. Why?
The Lord begins right here in Isaiah 43:1, by telling us not to fear. A paraphrased reading says - “You shouldn‘t be fearful. I have redeemed you, paid the ransom for you, and I have summoned you, calling you to Myself. And I’m glad to be able to say, that, you belong to Me.” I could stop with that, and say, “That’s enough.” It should be enough. But let me mention to you some specific things that God says. Five promises that you can count on - right now, and in the future.
1. GOD WILL BE WITH ME WHEN I’M DISTRESSED - The truth of the matter is, we all get tense and nervous sometimes. But God will be with me even when I am tense and nervous. None of us can predict the problems that we’re going to face in the future. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the next hour, much less tomorrow or next week or next year.
But regardless of what you go through in the future, you won’t go through it alone. This is a basic truth taught over and over in the Bible. There is never a time in your life when God is not with you. There are some times when you don’t think He‘s present, but He’s there. If their is ever a time in your life that God is around, it’s in trouble! Psalms 46:1 - “God is….a very present help in time of trouble.” God doesn’t move. God never leaves you.
This is very important because one of the sad realities of life, as time passes, as we grow older, is the fact that people are going to leave you. We don’t like it but they will. You will be left alone by other people. As you go into the future you’re going to have family members and loved ones who die, who pass on, who are going to leave you behind. That’s a fact of life.
You will have kids who will grow up and they’ll leave the home. You will have friends who will move away. And you may have parents who move into rest homes or away from you. There will even be some people in your life who will intentionally walk out of your life, for whatever reason, in the future.
So we have this natural, somewhat substantiated fear, that we will be abandoned, left behind. But God will never leave you. He says, “I will always be with you. I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. I will always be there.” It’s one of our deepest fears, this fear of abandonment, this fear of being left alone or forsaken.
I’ve seen it over and over again. I’ve stood at the graveside and listened to a grieving spouse say, “How am I going to go on? How am I going to go on without them in my life?” I’ve sat in the hospital when someone has lost a loved one. I’ve sat and talked with the man or the woman who were laid off from a job they’d been at for ten or fifteen years. I’ve talked with the spouse whose husband or wife has just walked out the door and who’s never coming back and the question is always the same: “How am I going to make it?”
And just as the question is always the same, so is the answer always the same. “God is with you. And He will be with you, and give you the strength to make it through those tough times.” Here’s God’s promise in Isaiah 43:2 -“When you go through deep waters and great troubles, I will be with you.” Circle “When” and “I will be with you.” This is a central truth that you need to grasp.
You will never be without God in your life. He’s always there. He says, “I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you go through fires of oppression, you will not be burned up. And the flames will not consume you.”
In your future, you are going to face some deep waters, and you’re going to think you’re going under for the last time. And in your future, you are going to face some major troubles. Count on it. And in your future, you are going to face some fiery troubles. The heat’s going to be on and you think you’re going to burn up.
But God is going to be there and you’re not going to go through it alone. Jesus said it like this in John 16:33 -“In the world, you will have trouble, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” The point is: When Jesus is near, you lose your fear. I can face anything, if I know I’m not going through it alone. When Jesus is near, you lose your fear.
The fact is, if you know this book, you don’t have to worry. In this first promise: God is going to be with you no matter where you are, no matter what happens, no matter what happens in the economy, in the country, or in your family. God will be with you when you’re tense, nervous, and in distress. No matter the level or depth. God will be with you.
Jesus was going through a distressing time - facing death, and the abandonment of the disciples. But listen to what He said in John 16:32 (*One of my favorite verses) - “The hour has come when you shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”
Some of you need to go home and make some big posters and put them all over your house that says, “God is with me!” You need to remind yourself over and over of that. You need to put it on your refrigerator door. You need to put it on your windshield visor. You need to put it on your bathroom mirror. Make a big poster and put it in your living room. God is with me! I am not alone. God is with me! He’ll help you with the fear, helping it be relieved and released.
2. There’s a second fear. And for the fear, another promise. The fear is that I won’t know what to do when I get to the future because it’s going to be all new, it’s going to be different. How will I know what to do? How will I act? How will I talk? What will I think? What will I be in the future?
The fact is, life is complex and it doesn’t seem to be getting any simpler. In fact, life is getting more and more complex, and therefore, it’s getting more confusing. One of the reasons you worry about the future is because you worry, “What am I going to do in those new situations?” The rest of your life is uncharted territory and nobody’s been there. Nobody that is, except God. God has been there.
And the truth is, you may not know where you’re going, but God does. And if you’ll trust Him, not only will He be with you, but He will lead you into your destiny. Our problem is that we’re frail. We’re human. And even though we may really want God to lead us, sometimes we will not have a clear picture of where we’re at or where we’re headed. But there is good news.
The Bible says that God will not only be with me but GOD WILL WATCH OVER ME WHEN I’M CONFUSED.
Psalm 32 - “The Lord says, `I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.’” That’s good news. God says, “I’m not only going to be with you but I’ll watch over you. You’ll not only have My presence but you’ll also have My peace.” He says He’ll be there.
In the future, you’re going to experience some new problems, some new pressures, some new opportunities. You’re not going to know what to do, so where do you go for advice in a new situation?
You could watch TV talk shows. You could listen to talk radio. You could read some real wise magazines like Cosmopolitan. You could consult a horoscope. You could call a psychic. You could get your tea leaves or palm read or tarot cards or resort to any of the ways that mankind tries to make up to know the future that don’t work. Or you could talk to your friends for advice, who, by the way, are probably just as confused about the future as you are. So that one’s not going to work either.
Or you could talk to God. Better yet, you could listen to God.
God is trustworthy, and His Word is 100% reliable. Now why should I listen to God? Because He’s the only one who’s already been where I’m going. He’s not constrained by time. He’s in the past, present and future all at once. You can’t understand that. That’s like an ant trying to understand you. You don’t have the brain capacity. If you could figure out God, you’d be God, and would have no need for God. But you’re not God. And you should be glad you’re not God, because you’re confused!
What you need when you face the uncertainties in the future, more than anything else, is perspective. You need to be able to see the big picture. To see the beginning, the end and where you are right now. The problem is that, as a human being, you don’t have that. You don’t have the perspective, the convenience of being able to know what your life is going to be in the future.
But God does. God’s already been to the future, so you can talk with Him and ask Him and get His perspective on life. Because God knows all the past and all the future.
It’s like this: Have you ever been driving on a curvy road, and you get stuck behind a slow car for miles, going 15 miles an hour? You think you’d like to pass the guy but you can’t see around the corner. If you could just see around the curve, then you’d know if it was safe to pass.
I’ve often thought, If there would just be a highway patrol helicopter there, hovering on the edge of the mountain and could see all the curves from the larger perspective and they could radio down to me and say, “It’s okay. There’s no traffic coming from the other way for the next half-mile.” Then I could feel confident and pass on curves when I couldn’t see. That’s perspective. God can navigate you through the curves of life.
God gives you perspective when you tune in to His word. Proverbs 28:26 “Those who use God’s wisdom are safe.” The point is you don’t have to know everything right now, you don’t have to have all the future figured out. All you have to know is where you go to get answers. And that’s to God and His word.
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do and He will show you the right way.” There’s a promise. He says “I’ll not only be with you when you’re distressed, I’m going to watch over you when you’re confused.”
God has promised to be with you, and watch over you. And so, you don’t have to worry!
