Tomorrow?
[A reflection and encouragement inspired by current events.]
For the first three week of January, I didn’t know I would have to move at the end of February. After moving at the end of February, I had no idea that by the end of March the entire world would be turned upside down in an unprecedented way.
I didn’t know that I would be out of work for a couple weeks while my job set up an online work-from-home situation. I didn’t know schools would be closed, movie theaters closed, coffee shops and restaurants relegated to take-out only, church limited to online live-streams.
Just a few weeks ago, I had never even heard of a “Shelter-in-Place” order, yet now weeks into it, it’s still unclear just how long this global health crisis will last. Just a few weeks ago, I underestimated the coronavirus.
Uninformed and optimistic, I thought, “Everyone’s overreacting. This thing will be done and the news will return to normal and everyone’s going to forget about it.”
But this unique situation is not something we will readily forget.
After all, when most of the world around you grinds to a standstill, it’s kind of monumental. I guess there’s a silver lining that traffic is better and gas prices are lower, but people are suffering.
So many have lost their livelihoods, and it’s hard to wrap my mind around how this crisis has touched every person in the world differently.
With this extended time at home and with family, I’ve grown to appreciate the things I have.
I’m grateful to God that I still have a job and a home and a family, but I’m also sobered that others around me are not so lucky. So many are anxious and fearful, and rightfully so.
Though I trust God that good can come out of this terrifying situation, I’m also understanding on a deeper level just how many things are out of my control.
I’m reminded of the wisdom in the book of James:
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (James 4:13-17)
I Had Plans
I know that we’re dealing with a global pandemic. I know this situation is affecting literally everyone in some way or another. I know this will prove to be a culture-shifting event. I know that after the danger has passed and life returns to “normal,” things will still be irrevocably different.
I know all that, and I know it would be selfish to complain as if it’s all about me, but I think I’m not alone in this feeling…
I had plans!
How dare a virus threaten me! How dare the government order me to be safe! Doesn’t everybody know all the things I’m trying to accomplish?
Anyone else have plans for 2020? I can’t be the only one.
Of course, right before the pandemic, I spent all of February getting ready to move to a new house. March was supposed to be the month to get settled and back on track with life as normal. I guess I have gotten forcibly “settled” with my family in the new place, but through the situation, especially when I’m not watching myself, I’ve found it’s easy to slip into an attitude of complaint.
It’s so easy to make it all about myself in my emotions and my frame of mind. After all, I’ve been making plans.
Then, I remember those words in the book of James, and I realize that my plans have always been subject to change. I am not God, and I should never act like I have my schedule figured out.
The passage is not saying it’s bad to plan, but it is inviting the reader to keep things in proper perspective.
What perspective is that?
I am not God. I am limited. The only thing I can really control is how I respond to the problems of today.
So, here I am, taking this crisis one day at a time.
I’m grateful to God and thankful for everything I’ve been blessed with. I’m happy to be so close with my family. I’m happy to be secured in Christ, happy that no matter what happens in life, I’m never abandoned, never alone, never hopeless.
I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but I can be thankful for each day and tackle each day’s challenges, whatever they may be, the way they were designed to be handled: one day at a time.
Now, I realize my situation is different than your own.
You may say, “Jered, that’s easy for you to say, but you still have a job, and you still live with your family. Maybe it’s fine for you to not be anxious, but I can’t afford to not worry about tomorrow.”
You may be valid in your worries and I definitely cannot say I’d handle your individual situation any better than you have. Ultimately, God sees tomorrow and He knows the exact answer to fix whatever problem or lack you’re facing.
Alpha and Omega
We know God is infinite. He’s the Alpha and Omega, the first and last, and He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
He’s already seen tomorrow. And yesterday, He knew about today.
This pandemic hasn’t surprised God. Nothing surprises Him, and nothing is too big for Him to handle.
We are reminded several times in scripture that God is above us and we can trust Him, even when we don’t understand Him.
His ways really are higher than our ways!
In the midst of uncertainty, faith trusts Him anyway. We are told not to be anxious about anything but in everything to pray and trust—to trust as a child does, to live worry free, like the birds and lilies.
We are also assured that God is a good father, and He only gives good gifts to His children.
We can blame anything bad on the brokenness of our fallen, corrupt world, but we can trust God to work all things, including the tragic, for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Application
So, with this knowledge, how are we supposed to actually live our lives, even when the problems facing us aren’t fixed yet?
Three things:
Be grateful.
Be present.
Be trusting.
Though it’s still sometimes difficult to admit it, I’ve come to realize that gratefulness isn’t automatic; gratitude is a choice! Just by the fact that we live and move and breathe gives cause for celebration. Especially if you’re a Christian, you need to maintain a thankful, humble perspective, remembering both what Jesus has done for your salvation through His death and resurrection and how His grace has helped you in all stages of your life.
We can also take this time to practice being present—live each day as its own day without worrying about what’s next. You have what you have, and if you can’t get what you want to have today, then there’s no reason to waste today worrying or discontented about your perceived lack.
Enjoy what you have!
Also, enjoy the relationships you have and connect with the people you love.
Each day is to be stewarded for the glory of God—let’s not waste anymore time withdrawn or voluntarily anxious and despondent.
Both being grateful and present are rooted in the deeper issue of trust.
Real faith is defined by trust—a relentless, stubborn trust in the God who made you, loves you, and saved you.
Real faith is developed in hardship and uncertainty. When you don’t feel God or understand what He’s doing, not doing, or letting happen, don’t flee from Him in frustration. Don’t whine because God isn’t giving you the whole picture. Instead, trust that He sees the whole picture and is weaving a mosaic more beautiful than you can imagine, composing and conducting a symphony resonant with eternity and the boundless love that fills it.
I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, and neither are you.
But since it’s still today, let’s make the most of what we have.
Of all my plans for the future, only one remains certain: for tomorrow and for all eternity, God is good and faithful and loving.
And if remembering that fact is the only thing I accomplish today, it will still be a day well spent.
