Who over the past few years has not gone through periods of speculation? A situation approaches (whether something scheduled in the next day’s events or an item that slithers into your heart as a vague possibility). Maybe it is that upcoming meeting with the boss or that memorable TV newsflash on how many people have been diagnosed with serious flu in the adjoining town?
FEAR THAT WAKES YOU UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
These are large fears, not my little fears wondering whether people will notice that I’m wearing two different colors of shoes (one being navy and the other being black). This is white knuckle fear. It wakes you up in the middle of the night and robs you of being able to breathe deeply. All joy runs away. Faith goes up in flames. However, in reality, the actual event has yet to happen.
Just want you to know, you are not alone.
ROBBED OF RESILIENCE
The pandemic and the resulting changes in our world robbed us of resilience. We lost the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. Situations once not considered formidable clobbered us. Speculation has gained a great deal of dangerous power, all at our own personal expense. The faith ship sinks.
BIG CHANGES AT WORK
I have a friend who went through turmoil at work. Her boss kept telling the employees that “big changes are going to happen imminently”. However, the “imminent” drug into weeks. At work, usually “big changes” mean big sacrifices at the employees’ expense. So, fears among her co-workers amped up into hyper mode. Speculation ran amuck. My friend is a believer. A few years back she had the reserves to take a “wait and see” attitude. The problem is that she has lost her capacity to put speculation on the back burner.
THE SPECULATION BAN
Did you know that Jesus banned speculation? So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:34) This “don’t worry” is not Jesus’ polite little suggestion for Christian wannabes. It is a command. Jesus is saying, “Look, if you trust me enough to take care of you for eternity, will you trust me enough to take care of those events that have not even happened yet?” We need resilience.
HOW TO BUILD RESILIENCE
John Eldredge writes: “You can start building mental resilience right here, by roping in speculation. Every time you find yourself speculating, tell yourself to stop it! Bring your thoughts back under control: I’m not indulging in speculation. It’s godless. Turn your thoughts immediately to God: You are good, Father. You are with me. You are still in control.”
This is not a quick and easy fix, it is a discipline which can only be learned by letting the Holy Spirit take charge of how we view life, even as it is only today. Jesus says, “Deal with the present, not with speculating over the future.” He wants to rid us of white-knuckle fear over what has not happened. Will you let Him?
Click to read what the Bible has to say about anxiety
