Walking Through Today

Matthew 6:34

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own.

Do you worry? Is your mind filled with something you can’t shake, that weighs heavy on your thoughts and prevents you from being able to concentrate? Has it robbed you of the ability to look forward to today with a sense of joy and hope?

You might be thinking, “yes, but these are real problems I have to deal with or something bad will happen.”

True enough.

Our lives have not been simple since we were about nine years old. But Jesus promised us peace in the midst of a storm. So how can you experience that when things seem to be getting tougher?

One answer was demonstrated by the story of Jesus walking on the water while the wind and waves raged around Him and the disciples sat in the boat terrified. The Bible tells us that Peter started walking out to Him but sank when he took his eyes off the Lord, the one who holds the key to life, the one who loves us so much He wants to carry our burdens and gives us the power to keep from drowning.

In today’s verse, Jesus seems to say that tomorrow is sure to have troubles you might worry about but His use of “therefore” means that He was trying to help his followers choose not to. He cares about whether or not we are anxious.

In this passage He points out that life is made up of the past, the present, and the future and it seems we can drag ourselves into worry about any or all three of them.

It's like we have three channels on our TV set.

Channel 1 is the past.

Do you want to spend time watching reruns of your life and filling your mind with what you cannot change anymore? Ask the Lord to forgive your mistakes, ask forgiveness of others you have offended, then let that go. Drop it.

Channel 3 is the future.

Sure, you can prepare for it, but there are so many unknowns coming up that you have no control over, so Jesus instructs us to stop watching Channel 3.

Trust Him to take care of the future because He is in control and He knows what is best for you.

Will you choose to believe Him or will you continue to hold on to the idea that your worry will make a difference?

Instead, He says we should keep our focus on Channel 2, the present.

Set your mind now on what He is doing and wants you to do. His heart is focused on others and He wants to use you to help them and point them to the Savior.

As you invest in loving others, you will gain a whole new perspective on your concerns.

Don’t let worries keep you from being totally present and walking through today with Him.