Watch the video above and talk about it with a group or mentor. Learn more.
A main area of stress for most people is the future. Maybe you are stressed about your grades at the end of the semester, whether or not you can go to college when you graduate, or just about what you are going to do in the next several years. If you are at the end of high school, you might be stressed thinking about how you are going to afford the next stage of life.
If these things bring you stress, then know that you aren’t alone. Most people stress about the future, but you don’t have to. Jesus teaches us how to deal with our stress, particularly as it relates to the future. In fact, Jesus talked a lot about the future. He talked about how stressed people get about it and how they should handle their worry. Let’s take a look:
Matthew 6:25-27 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”
Let God handle the future
One of the big takeaways from this passage is that God has everything under control. He knows what you need and when you need it. He knows what’s going to happen in the future. The Bible says that God knows the end from the beginning, which means he knows everything that is going to happen in your life. Remember that God handles the future of everything else. He takes care of the animals, the plants, and everything in Creation. You may not know where you are going to college or if you are going to go to college, but God does. It’s all in his hands. Trust him with your future.
Thank God for everything he is doing for you now
If we are constantly stressed about the future, it shows that we don’t appreciate what God is doing in our lives right now. In the passage above, Jesus pointed out that the birds go through their day without worries about food because they have learned that God provides for them (even if they don’t consciously understand that God is doing the providing). God is taking care of you today, even if you don’t realize it. He is giving you what you need and is watching out for you. Thank him for how he’s taking care of you today. Instead of worrying about what might happen in the future, thank God for what he is actively doing.
You can trust God with your future because he cares about you
It may sound scary to you to put your future in God’s hands. For some people, God seems distant and uncaring, but Jesus reminds us that God loves us deeply. He cares about all of his creation: plants, animals, and birds. However, God has a special love for people who are made in his image. Go outside and think about how God provides for all the living things around you: trees, flowers, insects, birds, etc. God loves you more than these things, and he will always take care of you too.
Discussion Questions:
- Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- What future event are you most worried about right this moment? Why?
- Make a list of some times that you were worried sick over a day or an event. Looking back, did worrying make those stressful events better or worse? Explain.
- Read Matthew 6:25-27. What are you not trusting God to provide right now?
- How would you see yourself differently if you truly believed that you are valuable to the God of the universe
- Write down at least 3 ways that God has taken care of you this week.
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
