Devotion Of The Day: Future

Psalm 55:22 "Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

One of my biggest struggles is worrying about what might happen in the future. I worry about scenarios that will likely never see the light of day. Seems like a waste of time, right? It is. Every time I worry about something, even in the present, I'm saying " God, I don't believe that you can handle this, so I'm going to worry about it."

As Christmas approaches our eyes are turned to the story of Christ's birth. I want to focus in on Mary and the attitude that she had when she received the news that they would be the mother of Christ. Luke 1:30-38 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bond slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

 Mary was betrothed to Joseph, and in the midst of this ,Mary, supposed to be a virgin, is found to be pregnant. When Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, he had every right to feel disgraced. Joseph knew the child was not his own, and Mary's apparent unfaithfulness carried grave possibilities. Joseph not only had the right to divorce Mary, but under Jewish law Joseph could have had her put to death by stoning.

Mary knew of these possibilities when the angel Gabriel disclosed the Lord's plan for her. She knew the Jewish law, and she knew the fate that could await her. Instead of arguing or worrying about her fate she simply said in verse 38 “Behold, the bond slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” But the story doesn't stop here, because God was faithful to Mary and her future. Matthew 1: 19-25 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. All of those things that could have happened to Mary, death and disgrace, God took care of. God never created a mess and left Mary without hope, He simply did His will.  His will brought the savior into the world. His will changed Joseph's heart. He provided for Mary, she simply trusted God with her future and gave Him her life. 

Respond: Armed with the knowledge that no circumstance is too big for God, how can you cast your worries upon the Lord? Would letting God handle your future create more worry or less worry? Is God capable of handling your future without your help? Is God faithful?

Reflect: 1 Peter 5:7 "casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you."

Matthew 19:26 " And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Matthew :-26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.