Worried About the Future?
¿Se Preocupa Ud. del Futuro?
by
Mary Hunt Webb
Posted Wednesday, August 31,2022
Improved communications mean that while weather disasters have not increased, the reporting of them has. [Photographer: Steve Buissinne. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.]
Early in our marriage my husband and I were in a Sunday School class along with other young couples. We listened one morning as our Sunday School teacher used newspaper headlines of recent catastrophic weather events to support his premise that the return of Jesus would occur very soon. When a recent bride heard that, she began crying because she feared that she and her new husband would never have the opportunity to raise a family.
Because my husband was employed as a weather forecaster for the National Weather Service of the U.S. government at that time, he explained to me later that the number of disastrous weather events had not significantly multiplied over the years. Instead, improved communications had increased the reporting of such occurrences.
There will always be some catastrophe to worry about. [Photographer: MirkovSajkov. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.]
During the decades since that Sunday morning, communication technology has vastly improved. There are even more means of communications than there were then. Now people have telephones with cameras attached so that they are able to record and report such events. With those improvements, predictions of the end of the world and the return of Christ have increased. However, Jesus warned us in Matthew 24 not to believe such predictions because worry about the future is fruitless.
As a former journalism major, I learned that there will always be major concerns to occupy headlines and to be featured on newscasts. Food scares, supply shortages, disease, inflation, weather events, stock market fluctuations, and the increase in crime were occupying news headlines in the 1920s and 1930s. Those concerns are not new. Not much has changed except for the addition of color photography to make the news seem more alarming and the speed with which such news is delivered.
In Matthew 24:36, Jesus admitted that even He did not know when the end would occur when He said, "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (NIV) Only God knows when the end will happen. Therefore, people that predict the end of the world are claiming to know more than Jesus Christ Himself!
Those of us that trust God show our confidence in Him through our actions and our words. Since God is the only One that knows when the end will occur, we demonstrate our faith in Him when we refuse to worry about it.
When we refuse to worry, it's easier to get a good night's sleep so that we have the energy and strength to face the next day.. [Photographer: Andrew Martin. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.]
We can thank Him that we don't need to worry about the future because Jesus taught us how to demonstrate our confidence in God, our heavenly Father, when we pray, "Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, they will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." (Matthew 6:9-13, KJV)
Matthew 24:36, — Jesus said, "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (NIV)
Mateo 24:36 — Jesús dijo: Pero del día y la hora nadie sabe, ni aun los ángeles de los cielos, sino solo mi Padre. (Reina-Valera 1960)
Matthew 6:9-13 — 9) … Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10) Thy kingdom come, they will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11) Give us this day our daily bread. 12) And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (KJV)
Mateo 6:9-13 — 9) … Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos, santificado sea0 tu nombre. 10) Venga tu reino. Hágase tu voluntad, como en el cielo, así también en la tierra. 11) El pan nuestro de cada día, dánoslo hoy. 12) Y perdónanos nuestras deudas, como también nosotros perdonamos a nuestros deudores. 13) Y no nos metas en tentación, mas líbranos del mal; porque tuyo es el reino, y el poder, y la gloria, por todos los siglos. Amén. (Reina-Valera 1960)
Often, when I cannot sleep, I repeat this prayer that Jesus taught His disciples. Image courtesy of freejesuschristwallpaper.com
