A Personal reflection for times of UNCERTAINTY

        I don't know the future might hold, but I know who holds it

I barely slept all night as the worries in my heart and in mind grew bigger and bigger in the darkness. When the sunshine finally peeked through the window on September 12th 2001, I began to pray! I poured out my heart and dumped all of my fears and concerns at God’s feet. As I prayed, I began to notice a pattern. No matter what concerns, consequences or fears I threw before the Lord, they all seemed to share one underlying theme. The fear of lack of provision!

The day before I watched the world dramatically change from my chaotic job on the flight control floor of a major airline as we scrambled to get our flights safely on the ground. Suddenly the future was not as secure as it once seemed. It was then, I felt God convicting my heart with the need to stop fearing the unknown and start trusting Him with the unknown. I then heard a gentle whisper in my spirit saying, “I alone am your Provider.”

With my eyes closed and tears about to run down my face, I nodded my head, Yes, Lord. You are. Please, forgive me for doubting Your provision. I seek Your peace and ask You to take away these fears gripping my heart. At that moment I had no idea what the future held, but I was reminded that God alone holds the future and a strange peace washed over me.

When I opened my eyes and felt the Lord nudging me to spend some time alone in His Word, so I picked up the bible and it opened at Exodus 16.4 where I read these words… “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.’” Exodus 16:4 (NLT)

That old testament passage specifically addressed the fears for provision I had just prayed about. God had heard the cries of my heart, as he always had and He wasted no time reassuring me that He was still listening, reigning and ruling.

Like me, the people of Israel had looked everywhere but “UP” for their needs to be met. They’d been slaves to the Egyptians, and after God set them free, they had to fully trust Him for all of their needs. The slaves were physically free but they were still mentally enslaved to their habits of looking for their provisions from people, places and things.

Friends, times of uncertainty make us think about where we find our provisions, and rarely is it UP. We instantly look at our jobs or our spouses. We look to our checkbooks and savings accounts. Some tend to look to their goals, dreams or relationships. But when our lives are dramatically and rapidly changing, God calls us to look UP to Him.

I don't know the future might hold, but I know who holds it…Trust in the Lord, He will never leave us or forsake us, He is still reigning and ruling! 
 
Let us pray
Dear Lord, I have been feeling enslaved to my thoughts of worry and doubt and I seek Your forgiveness. Help me remember You alone are the One who will provide for all of my needs, physical, spiritual and emotional. Help me recognize the loving ways You are raining down manna each day and to trust in You alone with the future.   Amen.