MATTHEW 6:25-34 – “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
THEME OF THE DAY: LEAVE TOMORROW WITH TOMORROW. I do it. It’s probably a safe assumption a lot of you do it as well, but here is the test to see if we are on the same page. “Have you ever stayed awake at night worrying, fretting, stressing, tossing and turning, over something that might happen tomorrow, next week or some other time in the future?”
Okay, now that we are in this together, let’s address two things about this all-too-common tendency to live in the “what ifs” of a not promised tomorrow.
First, and this one may sting deep inside our hearts. To stew, fret, and be riddled with anxiety over the things that might happen in a day not promised to us is simply sin. Yes, sin. Three times in today’s scripture our Lord commands us “don’t be anxious” and we need not commit this sin because we have a Heavenly Father who cares and provides for us. In a very real sense, to be anxious is to tell our Father in Heaven, “I really don’t trust You.” Now we would be horrified to think that of ourselves, but remember, before our God, the language of the heart is more important than the language of our tongues. To worry is to mistrust God’s Person, Power and Promises.
Another thing about this all-too-common tendency to live in the “what ifs” of a not promised tomorrow is found in Jesus’ last words, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Our Lord is basically telling us, “Fight today’s battles. The ones of tomorrow are waiting for you. Don’t try to fight them today for in doing so, you will lose the battles of the only day you have to fight – today’s.” Charles Spurgeon said these wise words about tomorrow’s anxieties we attempt to bring into today, “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows but empties today of its strength.” Wise counsel. Think about it.
So, what do we do? To start with, we apply today’s theme in our thinking; leave tomorrow with tomorrow. Then go to battle with God’s promises and refuse to give into the paralyzing forces of worry and anxiety seeking control of our hearts and lives.
PRAYER: “Father, forgive me for worrying and fretting over a not promised tomorrow.”
QUOTE: “Borrow the troubles of tomorrow and all you do is drain your strength for today’s battles.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim