Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34 (NIV)
Some days, it’s all too easy for me to get sucked into my own agenda. I get entangled in my self-made web of concerns about the future. Yet God urges me to seek Him first, to honor Him in the way that I live and act, to bring glory to His name, and leave those concerns to Him.
It’s not that I don’t make tentative plans. But living in the past and stewing over mistakes I made or jumping ahead tomorrow with all its concerns and struggles is self-defeating. That’s not where God wants me to dwell. Rather, He invites me to focus on today and His purpose for these next few hours.
To get ahead of myself – to rely on my resources, my ‘wisdom,’ my self-sufficiency, is to anticipate the future without the grace God provides anew each morning to meet that day’s needs. Today He’ll provide what I need for today’s struggles. Tomorrow He will provide what I need to get through tomorrow’s challenges.
So today I will focus on this day and let God take care of the ones yet to come. He’s already gone ahead and has prepared the way for me. So today, I will bask in today’s mercies and leave tomorrow in His all-sufficient hands.
Prayer: Lord, I want to live in the present, to focus on what you have for me, right here, right now, in this moment. Help me not to dwell on the past or the future lest I miss your plan and your purpose for this day. In your name I pray, Amen.
Thought: God is the God of ‘right now.’ He doesn’t want you sitting around regretting yesterday. Nor does He want you wringing your hands and worrying about the future. He wants you focusing on what He is saying to you and putting in front of you … right now. Priscilla Shirer