Trusting God with Your Future
By Alexis A. Goring
“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 NLT
A few years ago, while struggling to gain and maintain gainful employment, I called one of my writer friends. We’ll call her Becca. Here’s a snapshot of our conversation that day:
Alexis: I just want stability in my life!
Becca: You have stability because you have Jesus Christ.
Becca further explained that even if I had a traditional position in a thriving career with sufficient and steady income, I could still be fired or laid off from that employment.
Her words made me think because she was right. Even if I had landed a dream job that appeared secure, that security could be threatened at any moment by termination or budget cuts that resulted in layoffs. And these days, it seems that everyone in almost every industry is concerned about losing their careers to AI.
Apparently, I’m not the only one concerned about the future. In the midst of all of this uncertainty, a quote by Corrie ten Boom resurfaced in my mind. She said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” Her famous words resonate deeply with me because my future has long felt very unknown, and my career path has not been steady nor stable. God has blessed me along the way and enriched my life through the different detours. He lovingly provided a variety of professional work experiences. But honestly, sometimes it feels like I’m chasing the wind. I’ve tried re-tooling a few times in different careers, but that didn’t work out. I told a friend recently that I don’t know what else I’m remotely good at that I could do for a living.
But I was encouraged when I remembered my conversation with Becca. While I’ve been begging God for stability in my life, He’s been saying that He is with me, and He is all the stability I need. This challenges me to learn how to trust my unknown future to a known God. He is good and the Bible says God never changes. According to Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Why is it so important to know and believe that we serve a God who never changes? Because we live in a world that’s never the same! Nothing is truly certain no matter what career we choose. Even if we don’t have a job, nothing is completely certain because the Bible also says tomorrow is not promised (Proverbs 27:1). Therefore, we are to live day by day and not worry about the future. I’ve learned how key it is to focus on the present and ask God for His provision at the start of every new day. He always provides exactly what we need to make it through every 24 hours.
I’m also learning what it means to seek God with all of my heart and to rest in Jesus as my stability. The Lord is teaching me to not put too much emphasis on a steady paycheck that is here today but could be gone tomorrow. The beautiful lesson is that God will always provide for His children. He is a Good Father. And what do we know about Him? His love never fails! He gives good gifts! He will always provide our every need right on time.
The Bible also says in Matthew 6:25-34 that God takes care of the sparrows and that we are worth more than little birds. Clearly, He will always take good care of us. Earlier today, I saw a reminder of God’s provision as I drove by a lake. A flock of mallards grazed on the grass in perfect contentment. Later that day, I noticed more than two dozen small birds congregating on our lawn. They walked about, minding their business and trusting God to provide their food as they faithfully pecked the dirt beneath the grass. They appeared not to have a care in the world because their Creator always meets their every need. Again, are we humans not worth more than sparrows? I speak to me, too, when I say we can trust God.
There’s a song by Audrey Assad about how God provides for us. The song is called “Sparrow.”
I hope that this message has encouraged your heart. May you and I always remember that we have stability in Jesus Christ, and we can always trust our unknown details to the God we know will always be there for us.
Intersecting Faith and Life
How have you learned to trust God in your struggles? What does trusting a known God with your unknown future mean to you?
Further Reading:
Psalm 136
James 1:17
Philippians 4:19
Luke 12:4-7
Read this article by Vivian Bricker titled “What Does it Mean That the Father in Heaven Gives Good Gifts?”
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Rasica
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