During this time of quarantine, there is conjecture by all of us. What if this happens or what if that happens? What if I get sick? What if I lose my job and cannot pay my mortgage? What if all the stores run out of toilet paper? What if we will never be able to go to a sporting event again? What if life never returns to the normal we knew before Covid-19 hit?
Have you thought all of these thoughts and considered all these things? I think many of us have thought these things, been worried about these things, and maybe even lost sleep over these questions.
I remember before 9/11 what things used to be like. Do you? I remember flying with my 2 oldest daughters by myself to visit my parents. One of them was young enough to sit on my lap and the other sat in a car seat on the plane. On the return trip, my dad came on the plane and helped install the car seat for me. Today, he would not have even been able to help me to the gate. We have adapted to these changes and now consider them common place. Those of us old enough remember life before, but we have adapted and become accustomed to the new post 9/11 normal.
So that same thing will happen to us with this crises. As things are beginning to slowly open up and life is slowly returning to “normal” we will see changes. As this is happening, will it do us any good to be anxious for the “what ifs?”
One of the verses that most of us have memorized or are familiar with is Philippians 4:6.
“Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
I like to sing. I know lines of songs, but not always the whole song. There may be a word that I hear that reminds of a song and so it prompts me to break out into song, even if I only know one line to the song. I also like to make up songs. For some reason I made up a little ditty, “Nothing plus nothing equals nothing.” And I just repeat those same words. So what does the word nothing mean? Well if you are trying to pour some water into nothing it would spill all over the floor. If you tried to drive nothing you would look ridiculous. If you tried to wear nothing, you would look like the Emperor who wore no clothes.
Nothing is nothing. What does God tell us? To be anxious for nothing. When we start living in “what if” land, is it reality? Is it an actual event or is it nothing? “What if” is not actually anything, it is nothing. So why do we worry about the “what ifs” when they are not a present reality, but rather not a thing (NOTHING).
So as situations begin to happen in our lives, what is it we are supposed to do?
First, do not be anxious about what has not yet happened because it is nothing. Who says it is going to happen? Why are you worrying about something that has not even happened yet? It might not even happen.
Second, when something does happen we must pray and thank God for what has happened and presents our request to God.
Would we ask our friends, spouse, parents, etc. “I need something, but I don’t know what it is?” We go to someone with a specific request. So we must treat God with that same type of request.
Here is my challenge for you. Take life one day at a time. We must plan, but do not be anxious about all the “what ifs” all the “nothings.”
Remember lamentations 3:22, 23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, hi mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
God’s mercy is what we need each day. I wrote a post about this a few weeks ago. http://www.dannadykema.com/new-morning-mercies/
Be anxious for nothing. Remember God’s mercy is new for us each and every day to help us handle the actual problem that comes our way rather than the fabricated one we tend to make up in our minds.
