I’m working on an article for a women’s ministry site to address the profound fear of the future in young adults especially.
I encounter many students, for example, who arrive to my office in tears, overwhelmed with decisions and possible outcomes. One student said, “I want the life my parents have, but I have no idea how to get there. I have no idea!” Or “What’s going to happen to me? What do I do?”
So I’ve been thinking about wisdom and how to soothe fear. What will I tell my daughters as they face the future? I turn to Psalm 142:3 when an overwhelmed and desperate David writes, “When my spirit is overwhelmed, it is you who know my way.”
I also think of the little verse that brought great comfort when my life began to change with writing and public speaking. Psalm 32:8 says:
The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.”
Oh, so simply true and wonderful!
I also love thinking about Psalm 138:8 and having the faith to say, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.”
As we cling to the wisdom of God’s word and ask God to direct our paths, we experience increasing peace and certainty that God will lead us to the “good works He has prepared in advance” for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). Finally, we take great comfort in Phillipians 2:13 that God is working within us to give us the desire and ability to “act according to his good purpose” for our lives.
We don’t need to fear the future; He is already there.