Facing Future Fears

Just over twenty-four years ago we were all in a panic over what might happen when the clock struck midnight on December 31, 1999, and we plummeted into a new millennium. Yes, it was two dozen years ago that we were told to store up gallons of water and batteries before January 2000, and everyone everywhere was talking about all the bad things that might happen in Y2K. Guess what? The clock struck 12:01 AM and nothing significant changed.

It’s true there was some reason for concern that what was dubbed the “Y2K bug” would keep our computers from moving from 1999 to 2000 and we might find we all reverted to 1900 instead. Banking, telecommunications, and energy systems could have been affected. So computer experts updated software and replaced or modified existing systems to avert the crisis and it worked. A lot was learned about proactively preparing for technological challenges in the months leading up to that fatal tick of the clock. So the hard work may have paid off, but all the fear we found ourselves swimming in didn’t contribute to the smooth transition at all.

Besides jugs of pure water and batteries, consumers were encouraged to stock up on medications and first aid supplies, flashlights, cash, fuel, battery-operated radios and basic necessities like toiletries and hygiene products. My husband and I gave in to fear enough to buy a stock of batteries and about five jugs of water. Over the years we used up the batteries but when we moved eight years ago we found a couple of jugs of Y2K water still in our crawl space. We laughed remembering that we went out to dinner on New Year’s Eve 1999 to a very expensive restaurant we hadn’t been to before (nor since). As my husband paid the tab he quipped, “Well, we can come back here next millennium.”

No doubt there will be attempts to whip us all into a frenzy of fear in the year to come. Certainly we see events in our country and our world that concern us deeply, but as in Y2K our fears won’t contribute to solving the issues, only our hard work and optimism will make a difference. Fears can paralyze us, making us feel powerless over our lives. Better to choose faith over fear and slam the door on fear mongers. The Ark Encounter in Kentucky sells sweatshirts with the motto “Faith Like Noah.” That’s what we need.

Worry seems to be a basic failing of humankind, however, and we worry about what we fear. Speaking to believers in the sovereign God, Elisabeth Elliot wrote, “We are allowed to plan for tomorrow but we are not allowed to worry about it.”

Jesus also encouraged us not to worry in Matthew, Chapter 6, often called the “mental health” chapter of the Bible. He asks, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:27). He speaks of how God cares for the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field and then says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).

I need these reminders as much as anyone. Psalm 121:3 says, He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber. Let’s resolve to move into 2024 facing any fears we have for the future head on and remembering that faith always overcomes fear. May you have a happy and fearless New Year!

(This was first published in The Country Register, January-February 2024 Edition. Reading it again now I suppose my word for 2024 is FEARLESS!)