You Can't Control The Future Series

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HOW DO YOU VIEW THE FUTURE?

• Are you filled with SELF-CONFIDENCE because you think you are in control?

“Then [the rich man] said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’” (Luke 12:18-20).

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth (Proverbs 27:1).

• Are you filled with WORRY because you know there are many things out of your control?

Worry is rampant in our society. We worry about our children, job security, relationships, health, etc. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, close to one in four people, at some point in their lives, meet the criteria for anxiety disorders related to worry which require professional treatment.

Not all worry is bad. There are two kinds of worry:

(1) Good concern – leads to constructive action. (Example: If I’m jogging and feel a severe pain in my chest, I should be concerned and go see a doctor. I shouldn’t say, “I’m not going to worry about it. It’s probably nothing.”)

(2) Chronic worry – excessive anxiousness that restricts our lives. Chronic worry could be called the “what if” disease. (Example: If a chronic worrier is thinking about taking a flight, he might think, “What if the plane crashes. Or what if the plane is hijacked. Or what if the person next to me snores.”) Someone has said, “Worry is a misuse of imagination.”

Chronic worry can cause serious physical problems, such as ulcers, heart attacks, and high blood pressure. Dr. Charles Mayo, of the famous Mayo Clinic, wrote, “Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the glands and the whole nervous system. I have never met a man or known a man to die of overwork, but I have known a lot who died of worry.” You can literally worry yourself to death.

An anxious heart weighs a man down (Proverbs 12:25).

The English word “worry” comes from an old German word meaning “to strangle” or “to choke.”

• Are you filled with FAITH because you believe God is in control?

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails (Proverbs 19:21).

Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16).

WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT WORRY

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. Consider the ravens. They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

“Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well” (Luke 12:22-31).

People in Jesus’ day were worried about the necessities of life: food, drink, and clothing.

Jesus said, “Do not Worry.” Why?

• Worry accomplishes NOTHING.

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (v. 25).

There’s an English proverb that says, “Worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.” Someone has said, “Don’t tell me that worry doesn’t do any good. I know better. The things I worry about don’t happen.”

• Worry casts doubt on God’s CARE.

“O you of little faith!” (v. 28).

If God takes care of the ravens and the lilies, He will take care of us.

• Worry distracts us from our main CONCERN.