Seasons Of Change
Why do we imagine the future without Him?
Last August I was walking my oldest daughter to orientation for her first year of high school. Out of the blue, the dreaded “Sunday night feeling” hit me hard. [You know, the anxiety that rises at the end of a nice relaxing weekend? When Sunday night hovers like a dark cloud signaling the advent of new pressures and uncertainties in the week ahead?]
My mind raced. Where did the last 15 years ago?
I sensed the sands of time slipping through my fingers too quickly to control. The thought of my daughter entering high school (and then too swiftly leaving) gripped me like a vice.
A question entered my mind: Why do I continue to imagine a future without God?
I remember the first time I felt fear of the unknown as a youngster. I was mourning the last warm days of summer. Change was in air.
A new year of elementary school loomed. I felt tightening in my chest and an overwhelming feeling of fear. What will this school year hold?
Unknowingly, I was training my mind to fear the change of seasons. These anxieties followed me into adulthood. Now with my daughter moving into high school, I felt the familiar twinge of anxiety.
Why do we fear new seasons?
Transitions?
Sunday night?
We know seasons and change come from the Lord. They are essential for our growth.
Ecclesiastes Chapter Three informs us there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. We are reminded that God is in control of every season of our lives.
But even with this head knowledge of His sovereignty, I needed to hear the next verses. God makes everything beautiful in its time. He set eternity in our hearts.
These truths stepped into my life experiences and freed my heart. I could trust the Lord for my children’s future, as well as my own.
If the brief timeframe of this life is all I’m living for, I will fear the swift passing of seasons. If I have to control my environment, I will fear change.
But if I am living for eternity, a timeline that never ends, then these are just the beginnings of beautiful seasons to follow. If God is in control, I’m on the front row of an unfolding adventure.
An awareness of God‘s sovereign presence and the reality of Eternity completely changed my bleak temporal equation. My eternal destiny has been secured by Messiah Yeshua. I can trust His presence to lead me through whatever lies ahead on the timeline of this life.
Once I was able to add God’s presence to the equation, and Eternity as the outcome, the tightening in my chest vanished. My panic melted into joy.
I was able to enjoy every moment of my firstborn’s first days of high school, without fear of the future.
Written by Kori, LIFE Staff
We’d love to hear from you!
What causes you to fear the future?
How does your perspective change by adding to your “life equation”:
1) God’s presence in the present, and
2) the prospect of eternity with Him?
What other “antidotes to fear of the future” have you found to be effective in your life?