This past week and a half my hospital increased staffing due to an expected increase in admissions from over a million additional people traveling through our state to view the eclipse in the Zone of Totality.  Portland is a major highway hub for part of the state, and I work for one of the main trauma hospitals for the surrounding three states.  I work night shift and had packed a bag to stay with a coworker who lived close so I could avoid extra traffic the days pre-and-post eclipse.  During that Sunday night, the Lord spoke to me and said, “You’re concerned about what is going to happen later, but you forgot to ask Me.”

I realized how silly it was for me to worry about this entire ordeal when God already knows the outcome, and all I needed to do was ask Him.  We can make the best plans, but if God has something else in mind it would all be for nothing.  I’m not against advanced-planning, and as a former Boy Scout I am all over emergency preparedness, but as a follower of Jesus Christ I have some advantages that aren’t included in the Boy Scout Manual—a Divine Guide who lives with me and in me (John 14:17).

The end result was that I drove home with sub-normal traffic, enjoyed the near-totality eclipse with my family, and then drove back to work later that evening with no traffic problems either.  While we did have some gnarly traumas come through the hospital, none of the other potential issues I was worried about and planning to abate came to pass.

The Bible talks about this in a number of places.  Two that come to mind are Matthew 6:34 and Philippians 4:6-7.  Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  I guess we all need those simple reminders from time to time.