I became distracted by the noises of the now from people of all walks of life. I heard messages on the state of the world and even proclamations of days to come that made me shake with fear. I felt overwhelmed and thought, “What can I do? How could good prevail in the face of such uncertainty?” After inquiring of the Lord, he replied with so simple a command that brought peace to my heart, clarity to my mind, and hope for days to come:
Do what is before you.
These simple words silenced the noise and confusion and let me know He orders my steps and my steps are secure. Be faithful in what God has placed before you to do. It takes faith to continue on, stay the course, and not panic. How sweet a fragrance we are to Him when we stay faithful to what He has set before us with a generous and joyful heart. He is aware of even the smallest effort.
Let Him work out all that is out of our control. Ours is to pray, seek His kingdom and His righteousness, and do what He has placed before us to do. In all you do, refresh others by the works of your hands and the words from your mouth in every encounter. Be not alarmed, be at ease, and rejoice in the one that has overcome the world.
Matthew 6:24-34
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”