"So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life--whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing...Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not" (Matthew:25-27). "And He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern" (Matthew 6:33).
How often do you wake up int he middle of the night with burdens on your heart that keep you from going back to sleep?
It happened to me last night. The clock said, 4:30 am and I was wide awake. Baggage from yesterday and worries about tomorrow weighed heavily on my mind and heart. What Jesus said in Matthew 6:34 is true. "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today."
Do you start you day thinking, "I don't have enough on my mind. I'm going to borrow trouble from tomorrow and make up some new problem?" Yeah, me neither. The word trouble means adverse circumstances, problems, hardship. Certainly, each day has enough of its own.
In effect, Jesus is saying that you can't carry the weight of your past, that's what forgiveness is for and you can't carry all the uncertainties of your future because that's what faith is to do Simply, we are to focus on today and deal with what we can. I must admit, I struggle with this principle, but I also know that peace only comes when I learn to apply it. Can anyone relate to my struggle?
If someone poured sugar in our gas tank or introduced a virus to our computer we know the possible results. Usually something breaks down. That's exactly what worry does to the human spirit. When you gather up in your mind on a regular basis a list of all the unknowns of the future and repeatedly review and extrapolate, the uncertainties become so large that it will cause a break down. Everything gets sideways when you're on the anxiety program.
You were not fashioned to fear.
You were not wired to worry.
You were not made for anxiety.
You were made to live today--"Today's trouble is enough for today"--to focus on the thing that you can affect and to work on the thing that you can improve that are right in front of you. You and I have limited capacity. I can't carry yesterday or my imagined tomorrow. I've got to trust the Lord today and so do you, even if it's from one day's 4:30 am to the next.
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