Well, in the midst of watching the news I found myself checking on others making sure they were home and safe. You know what? We didn't the high winds. No snow came and our ice was two inches of sleet falling. That's it for us. For others, they did receive lots of snow and gusting winds covering the roads with drifts five feet high. So the weather men tracked this storm as well as they could, but they were still off. That got me thinking about anticipation.
How often to we anticipate the worst in everything? We walk about like Johnny Raincloud just waiting for it to begin pouring. We just assume the worst is going to happen. We feel anxious and in fear we try to prepare for the coming storm. Oh, how many times I have been here. I just assume, assume and assume. Just ask my children. They will tell you I assume way too much. Maybe that's part of being a fixer. Yes, I know, the Lord has much to work in my heart. I am getting there.
We anticipate until we are sick to our stomachs. I anticipated when I went for that second mammogram that is was going to show something terrible. When they found a lump in my neck I anticipated the worst. I just knew they were going to find something. There are times where we just let our minds wander off in anxiety land. I can tell you my mammogram? Yes, it came back just fine. Just a shadow. The lump in my neck? Well, that was a little miracle of God. When they got me into the surgery room it was all but gone. I mean gone, disappeared!! That did lead to finding out I had thyroid problems which lead to more surgery, but what I had anticipated never happened. Through one lump in my neck it lead to saving my life. Yes, saving my life, but that if for another day.
"For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock." Psalm 27:5
God is good isn't He? He makes a way. He calms us while we are in the storm or He calms the storm around us. But first we must give Him our total trust. We must live out our faith and we must surrender all those worries and anxieties to Him. I wish I could look back and see how much time I have spent worrying. I bet it adds up to more than just a few years of my life. And why? Did I gain anything by anticipating the worst? All I did was lose precious time I could have spent being joyous. It doesn't do us any good to stock up on worry. That is one item we need to leave behind. We need to place trust, hope and faith in our cart of preparing.
All we can do is prepare and live in each moment trusting the God of heaven. How do we prepare? We get prayed up and put on that armor that fights against the evils of this world. We open God's word and prepare our hearts for whatever is to come. In Christ we can be ready for anything and everything. We can fall flat on our faces in faith, putting all we have in God's hands. Is there really any other place safer?
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
Sure, that storm could have been worse for us. You know, it was worse for others. Some are just beginning to dig their way out. Even though it didn't reach us in the magnitude they said, it did reach others in that way. We can't change the weather any more than we can change others around us. Each circumstance is unique and each one carries change most of which is out of our control. The only thing I can control is my reaction and how well I am prepared for right now. I don't have to worry about ten minutes from now or tomorrow. God has got it! I can have peace knowing God is in control. I don't want anyone else at the wheel. I sure don't want to drive. I will gladly take the backseat to God. I have learned to just let go and let God.
If the weather had gotten bad there isn't anything different I could have done to change what was happening. All I can do is trust the One who is never changing. If you live in Missouri you know the weather changes quite drastically. God never does. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. I can be safe in that. I can be secure in that. I can know that no matter what happens He is going to take care of me.
We can anticipate everything about tomorrow. Is there something you are anticipating? Friends, just give it to the Lord. Don't just give Him a little, give Him everything. Trust Him whether the skies are sunny or clouds are overhead. Either way He is watching out for you. Whatever will come will come whether you have got yourself in a flurry of emotion or if your calm as the soft wind of spring. Which would you rather have? I would rather take the calm and I know just where I can find it. In Jesus Christ.
"Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!" Psalm 27:14
