“I know not what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.”
–Anonymous
Most of us worry far too much about the future. In fact, some people are almost obsessed about it. No matter how good life is today, they constantly worry about possible future problems, even when there is no good reason to expect that tragedy looms ahead. They worry about illness, early death, financial problems and just about everything else.
Those people need to memorize the following old nursery rhyme and repeat it to themselves every time they find themselves worrying about the future: “For every problem under the sun there is a solution or there is none. If there be one try and find it, if there be none, never mind it.” I memorized this marvelous bit of wisdom a long time ago, and I call on it frequently when I find myself worrying about the future. Although I must admit that I have not yet reached my goal completely, I make an effort to not worry about anything over which I have no control.
About the only positive thing that can be said about worry is that it sometimes motivates us to take precautionary or preventive measures that might alter our future. For example, if we are worried about health problems or early death, there are a number of things we can do to reduce the likelihood of our fears becoming reality. We can exercise regularly, be very careful about what we eat, avoid alcohol and tobacco, and try to reduce the stress in our lives. If we are worried about being injured or killed in an automobile accident, we can exercise caution in the type of car we buy, always wear our seat belts and drive very carefully. If we are worried about the danger of being burglarized, we can increase security measures, or perhaps even move to a safer neighborhood. These kinds of worry are very beneficial, because they involve factors that are at least partially under our control.
Once we have done everything we can to minimize risks, further worry is counterproductive. For example, if we have taken all the precautions in our power to ensure a safe automobile trip, additional worrying as we are driving may actually reduce our alertness and contribute to an increased likelihood that we will have an accident. The same is true of excessive concern about our future health. If we have done everything in our power to ensure good health, continuing to worry about our health adds stress to our lives that can actually lead to health problems. In short, if there is a solution to our problem, we should “try to find it,” but if there is no solution, we should “never mind it.”
Our future is partially in our hands, and partially in the hands of God. If we do our part to ensure a good future, we must learn to trust God to do His part.
Think about it.
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Copyright 2016
Allen W. Smith
