Do not worry beyond today

Matthew 6:34 (NIV)

“…….do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough troubles of its own.” 

Jesus focused on the subject of worry or anxiety in His Sermon on the Mount starting in verse 25 when He said not to worry (the original Greek states “give no thought to”) about your life.  Worry is not to be a feature or habit of the true follower of Christ.  If He declares, “do not worry” and yet you worry, you are being disobedient to His command.  Back when He made these statements, most listeners were so poor that all they were concerned about was what to eat and drink and what to wear.  We don’t worry about these basics today; our worries are much more ‘advanced’. 

If you are older than a teenager, do you remember what you worried about during those years?  Do those worries seem like a big deal today?  Does this not point out clearly the utter futility of worrying?  Glenn Turner once said, “Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere”.  Indeed, worry robs you of many things---it can damage your health, affect your social relationships (especially with those you love the most), and definitely can rob you of the real meaning and purpose of your life.  When you pause and think about it, there is not one single positive purpose or advantage to spend time worrying about something.  Yet, sadly, how much time and energy do most of us spend on this wasted effort? 

Leo Buscaglia said that “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy”.  What “joy-stealers” do you worry about?  Are you guilty worrying about “what if I lose my job”?  What if I get cancer?  How am I going to pay these bills?  What if I had done ‘this’ instead of ‘that’?  Now, keep in mind, you are to plan for your future, you are to learn from your past, you are to be prepared for the uncertainties that might come, BUT, you are not to worry about them.           

Jesus clearly stated, “Don’t worry about tomorrow”.  So, don’t worry about tomorrow.  Be like Charlie Brown---“I’ve developed a new philosophy about my life---I only dread one day at a time”.  Jesus wouldn’t approve of the attitude of “dread”, but He is saying that you are wasting your time by worrying about tomorrow.  Matthew 6:34 has been called the “spiritual social security” of the Christian.  You are to live this day for the Lord and trust Him not only for today, but also for tomorrow and throughout your future.  Meditate on Proverbs 3:5-6 and stop worrying about what might happen.  The Lord promises that He will provide and He will take care of all your needs.