As the world gets increasingly uncertain, many people are feeling a heavier sense of worry in their everyday lives.
A recent global survey showed that roughly a third of people around the world are mostly concerned about rising prices and the cost of living, while another third are worried about safety, crime and violence.
The texture of worry and anxiety varies across generations, with younger adults (especially Gen Z and Millennials) worrying more about job security, financial independence, delayed milestones and whether they’ll ever feel like they’re “catching up.” The older generations worry less about hustle culture, but carry deeper concerns around long-term health, retirement comfort, protecting for and ensuring that their families are well set up.
However, in that same survey, a particular phrase stood out: a significant percentage of people were still optimistic about their own future. These respondents were not exclusive to a particular geographical location or within a single age bracket.
When you think about it, most of the things people worry about falls into a broad bucket called “tomorrow.” Tomorrow hosts a lot of things — our growth and development, our evolving perspectives, promises of plans fulfilled, the joys of dreams realized, the actualization of a future self we envision. “Tomorrow” really does pack a punch. So we can fairly say that some people are quite within their rights to be worried.
However, we can learn a powerful lesson from how a child views tomorrow.
Worry is alien to a child’s natural instincts. The only child who instinctively worries, is a child who has lost their sense of security. I’ve seen children that believe for cars tomorrow, even when they can see their parents riding tricycles today- and wise parents often choose not to “educate” that faith out of them. Children are naturally anticipatory not naturally anxious. Their default is bold confidence and trust.
Matthew 6:8a: Do not be like them…
In Matthew 6, we see Jesus draw a distinct separation between two classes of people: those that have a right to worry and those that don’t. Jesus is saying that there is a “them” and there is an “us.”
One distinctive feature lies in how we respond to tomorrow. Jesus instructs that worry is not compatible with a believer’s nature. Worry is a spirit. Can you anticipate? Yes! But should you worry? No!
Why did Jesus ask us not to worry? We see at least 3 powerful responses from Acts 1 and Matthew 6:
- You have a Father. He is our heavenly Father and for some people, He needs a re-introduction. He is not our earthly father. He is superlatively loving, present, capable and willing.
- Your Father knows your needs. God doesn’t know more about us when we pray than before we prayed. Our prayer time is not a time of uploads; it’s a time of download. That’s why what follows verse 8 in Matthew 6, is Jesus teaching us to pray with a focal point of that involving inviting kingdom manifestations in our earthly context. His kingdom is a package that includes power and glory.
- You have the Holy Ghost. Think of it this way, God, your heavenly Father has anchored you to a destination and He gives you the Holy Spirit as your guide. The Holy Spirit is your guaranteed navigation from a place of anticipation to your manifestation.
Our confidence about tomorrow is not in our certainty of the events but in our trust in the God of tomorrow. God is perfectly comfortable in volatility, uncertainty and unpredictability because He stands above changing conditions not within them. Storms don’t threaten Him; they obey Him by aligning themselves for our good. Seasons don’t catch Him unaware; He appoints them that He may promote His counsel. God, our Father is our security and guarantee for tomorrow.
“For the Gentiles wish for, crave and diligently seek all these things and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all but seek first of all His kingdom and His righteousness and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.” (AMP) — Matthew 6:32
The second thing that distinguishes “us” from ‘them,” is what we seek as a response to what we need for our future. Jesus goes further to teach us how we must posture our hearts.
- Don’t hoard / excessively accumulate. God is not against plans, strategies or savings. However, it’s a futile effort to base your success or failure solely on them or the lack of them. You can’t plan enough for a future you don’t know, but you can be led by the Holy Ghost into the future He desires for you.
- Don’t de-prioritize God or His things. Putting God first is a crucial part of the equation that anchors our tomorrow. Why does God have to be first, you ask? Because He has to be the lens through which you view everything else. The only way things multiply is when God is considered first. Putting God second is already making His perspectives and views secondary. Our prioritization of God in our considerations is a multiplier for every other thing.
- Don’t “over-pray” from fear. It’s funny how a symptom of worry is “over-praying”, It’s exchanging fellowship for endless legal petitions, negotiations and putting God on a perpetual performance scale. We mustn’t attempt to hold God hostage by our prayers, it’s a sign of distrust.
- Don’t forget to live today. Sometimes we are so anxious and fixated on tomorrow that the resulting anxiety steals today. There are glorious things God has planned for you today! Do them! There are instructions and promptings, regardless of whether or not they look like your plans. One of such things is to give thanks. Don’t postpone your gratitude. Giving thanks is a portal of access to your tomorrow!
While the world manages uncertainty with worry and anxiety, believers manage worry by trusting.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.
Have a blessed week.
For His glory and renown,
Olayinka Adebayo
@layinkadebayo
Push Buttons is a weekly devotional of The PowerPoint Tribe.