...In seeking to know how to lead a tranquil life, Scripture insists that we should resign ourselves and all we have to God, surrendering to him our dearest desires, that he might tame and master them. ...We have a prodigious hatred and fear of poverty, obscurity and disgrace, which is why we do our best to run from them. The result is that people who live according to their own counsel are dogged by constant anxiety: they will therefore try any stratagem, and put themselves through all kinds of torment, to attain whatever ambition and greed impel them to seek, and to escape poverty and loss of status.
There is a path which believers must follow if they would avoid falling into this trap. First, they must cease to wish, hope or imagine they can prosper apart from the blessing of God. That is the only thing on which they can safely lean and rely. ...The fact is that, when problems abound, only God's blessing will find a way through, and ensure a good outcome in all we do. (Taken from
A Guide to Christian Living by John Calvin, Banner of Truth, pgs. 44-46.)
This lengthy quote is simply to say that we too often, even as believers, are fearful of the wrong things. We seek to maintain what is not important while we seek after what will perish. Only the Lord makes life truly a blessing in whatever circumstances we are in.
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