A lot of our emotional pain comes from worrying about the future. We spend exorbitant amounts of time worrying about how to prevent an impending doom that may or may not happen. Often, when the doom does occur it is a lot less traumatic then we thought it would be and our ability to handle it is a lot easier than we thought it would be. We also fail to factor in the help that God offers us in our time of need.

I used to drive on a freeway that cut through the Mark Twain National Forrest. The freeway was littered in blood and deer guts. I spent a large amount of time worrying about hitting a deer. I fantasized about the terror of hitting a deer at 75 miles an hour. I did everything I could do prevent hitting a deer. When I finally hit a deer, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. There was a lot of complications that arose because of the wreck, but all of the complications were manageable. I could easily see God’s hand in my life as he provided a way to help me out of the troubles that arose. Furthermore, He strengthened me and helped me learn life lessons that I couldn’t have otherwise learned.

Jesus was clear in how he wants us to approach the future. He declared, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matthew 6: 34.