Are you worried about your future? (part 3)

Submitted by Curtis Tucker
Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Are you worried about your future? (part 3)

This week we're talking about the future and how we often become worried about what the future may hold. When we look around and see the present troubles it adds more worry and makes it difficult to see the hope for the future. 

In Psalm 42, David wrote: "Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again-my Savior and my God!Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you-" (Psalm 42:5-6, NLT)

David looked around at his current circumstances and he became discouraged and sad, but then, he remembers.  He remembers God. Bible scholars believe that David may have written this Psalm when his son Absalom had stolen the kingdom and David had to flee for his life. Obviously, that would be a very traumatic experience and most likely create much doubt about the future. But, as David contemplates all that is going on, no doubt he remembers the times that God came through for him in the past...when God chose him to be king over Israel, when he killed Goliath, when God rescued him from crazy Saul. All these experiences from the past reassured David of the future!

What has God done for you in the past? Has he ever met a financial need? Has he ever restored a relationship that you thought was completely severed? Has He ever given you a sense of peace even when going through a very trying time? 

Here's the challenge...let God change the way you think about your present circumstances and how they may play out in your future. 

Are you discouraged or sad...worried about the future? Remember prayers God has answered in the past. Look at the rest of Psalm 42 and follow the example of King David as you pray.

But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my
hope in God!  I will praise him again-my Savior and my God! (Psalm 42:8, 11, NLT)