God Will 'Be There' For You

Osterley LakeImage by duopastorale via Flickr
He leadeth me beside the still waters

Philip Yancey says, 'Faith means trusting in advance, what will only make sense in reverse.' If you fear the future, look back and see how God took care of you in the past. 'This I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness... The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him' (Lamentations 3:21-25 NIV).

You say, 'I don't know what I'll do if my loved one dies.' You will - when the time comes. You say, 'I don't know how I'll pay these bills.' Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides, will be there - when the time comes. You say, 'I'm not qualified to handle this, there's too much I don't know.' Maybe you want to know everything too soon. God will give you wisdom - when the time comes. The key is to meet today's problems with today's strength, and leave tomorrow in God's hands. During World War II, Arthur Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times, found it hard to sleep or rid his mind of fear until he adopted these words from the hymn 'Lead, Kindly Light': 'I do not ask to see the distant scene; one step enough for me.' And God isn't going to let you see the distant scene either. No, He promises a lamp for your feet, not a crystal ball for your future. 'He leadeth me' and that's enough for today. And tomorrow? '...we will find grace to help us when we need it...' (Hebrews 4:16 NLT).

Used with permission from UCB Word for Today. Free issues are available here for the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Comments

Wanda said…
Using today's strength for today's problems. Wonderful words of wisdom. Blessings to you.
kc bob said…
'Faith means trusting in advance, what will only make sense in reverse.'

I like that Mike!
ChrisJ said…
Great thoughts. I have followed Phillip Yancey since his days with "The Wittenberg Door" . When we were in Bible College, my husband and I would sit in bed and roar with laughter at his truisms! Now of course we have all grown up and hopefully 'grown on. He certainly has. "Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow".
Steve said…
Thanks for these word of encouragement.
Pietro Brosio said…
Excellent post. We must trust in God for the present and even more for the future, which is often unclear for us.
Barbara said…
From watching others and from experience I do believe that God gives us what we need only when we need it and not before. Certainly if we knew we could cope with everything then we would not need faith.

Keep us dependent on Him.
photowannabe said…
Strength for today...I need to remember that and not borrow tomorrows troubles.
I trust but really need to trust more, even when I don't see the whole picture.