Adapted from Secrets of the Proverbs 31 Woman by Rae Simons
She is clothed in strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
Proverbs 31:25 NIV
In the days before my father died, he would often say, “Why should I be afraid of dying? Everything in life that I ever feared turned out to be okay. If life is so filled with beauty, why would I think death would be any different? God has never failed me once in my life. Why would He fail me now?”
Not many of us have this outlook. Instead of basing our expectations for the future on the joys and wonders we have already encountered, we expect the future to be full of pain. We imagine how awful it will be. We brace ourselves for countless disasters.
But most of those disasters will never happen. Yes, we will all ultimately die, in one way or another but in between that day and today is a space that God has filled with blessings. Yes, we may die in an accident next year, but it’s no more likely to happen in the future than it is to happen right now. And yet we feel as though because we can see the present moment, we have control over it (though of course we don’t), and because we can’t see the future, we feel out of control.
Humans don’t like to feel powerless. We imagine that by picturing future dangers we will somehow have more control over them. Instead, as we anticipate future pain (which may never happen), we allow it to rob us of the joy of the present moment. We’re so busy with imaginary sorrow and pain that we miss out on the comfort and security that surround us today. We make ourselves miserable for no real reason!
The Proverbs 31 woman, however, was not afraid of the unknown. Her willingness to try new things may have been one of the things that made her able to laugh as she faced the future. She had practice at venturing into the unknown, and like my father, she based her confidence in the future on her experience in the past. God had never failed her, and she knew He never would. Secure in His love, she could embrace the unknown, even take joy in it. For her the future was an adventure. Instead of expecting nothing but loss and pain, she could laugh, anticipating new joys.
The fear of the unknown is natural, and we need not feel guilt over it. We don’t need to pretend our fear isn’t there or try to squash it out of existence. Instead, we can look at it honestly. We can accept it, even learn from it.
God doesn’t think we’re sinning if we worry about the future! But He does long to relieve us of this heavy burden we carry so needlessly. “For I know the plans I have for you,” He says to us in the book of Jeremiah, “plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (29:11 ESV). If the Creator of the universe has a plan for our future lives, why wouldn’t we be filled with joy?
Lord, I give You my fears about the future. Thank You that no matter what the future holds, I can count on Your continued presence and blessings in my life.