Scripture: Matthew 6:25–34
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.” — Matthew 6:34 (KJV)
There are people who are exhausted from fighting battles that have not happened. This may be from the medical report that has not come, but you have already imagined the worst, or the interview that has not taken place, but you have already seen yourself rejected. Nobody has said you will lose your job, yet you have calculated how your family will survive without your salary. With one unanswered call, or one unusual symptom, suddenly the mind begins writing a story that reality has not written.
One of the cruellest things about worry is it can make you experience tomorrow’s pain today. What makes it even more painful is that tomorrow may never happen the way you have imagined it.
Jesus understood the human heart has this tendency, thus, in Matthew 6, He kept drawing His listeners back from tomorrow. What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? What will happen? How will we survive?
These were actually not foolish concerns. Food, clothing, or issues about tomorrow are important. Jesus was not speaking to people who had nothing serious to think about. Yet He said:
“Take no thought for your life…”
This is not because life is not important, but because worry cannot do what you are asking it to do. In todat’s text, Jesus asked one question that exposes the helplessness of anxiety:
“Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” — Matthew 6:27
In other words: After all this worrying, what has worry actually changed?
You have replayed the situation fifty times. Has it changed? You have stayed awake while everyone else slept, trying to solve in your head what is beyond your hands. Did losing your sleep change the situation?
Sometimes worry deceives us into believing that because we are thinking about something constantly, we are doing something about it. But worry and preparation are not the same thing. Preparation asks, “What can I responsibly do?” Worry asks, “What if everything goes wrong?” Preparation acts and then rests. Worry keeps working even when there is nothing left to do.
Think about how much strength we lose carrying imaginary tomorrows. What if this happens? What if I fail? What if things never change?
You are standing in today trying to see around a corner that only God can see around. You want answers before you arrive there. You want provision before the need appears. You want strength for a battle that has not begun.
God often gives grace according to the day. There was manna for each day in the wilderness. There was strength for each stage of the journey. And Jesus says:
“Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
Today already has responsibilities, decisions, prayers, work and challenges of its own. Do not add an entire imaginary tomorrow to it.
Somebody reading this needs permission to come back to today. Do what today requires of you. Make the call, see the doctor, and submit the application. Take the necessary practical step, and where anxiety is persistently affecting your sleep, health, work or ability to function, seeking professional support is not a contradiction of faith.
After you have done what is yours to do, do not appoint yourself the god of tomorrow because there are things only God can carry.
Prayer
Father, my mind has travelled into places You never asked me to go. Today, I bring my fears back to You; give me wisdom to handle what is mine to handle and grace to release what is beyond me. When my mind begins to run ahead of Your grace, bring me back to today. I refuse to allow an unknown tomorrow to steal the life You have given me today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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