“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow has enough worries of its own. Sufficient for the day is its troubles.” – Jesus, Matthew 6:34
This verse has been in the back of my head quite a bit lately. I wrestle with it constantly because I tend to be a worrier. I worry if the plan will pan out. I have a sincere conviction and belief that God is sovereign. He knows the troubles and pains of yesterday, but even more, He knows all the tomorrows that I have never seen. Even in the midst of that conviction, I still worry about tomorrow, next week, next year.
I have been trying to find some context for the verse through other passages in Scripture. I came across Matthew 10, just a few chapters after the Matthew 6 passage. I’ve known about this passage for a long time. In fact, it was the first Bible study I ever taught. I spent 8 minutes giving my first sermon on how Jesus sent out His disciples. The “Stan-paraphrase” goes like this, “I’m sending you out to do the work of the Kingdom. Don’t worry about clothing, food, money or shelter. All of that has already been arranged. Speak the truth about Me and the Kingdom and WHEN you are persecuted, don’t worry about it. I’ll protect you. If you live, there’s more work to do. If you die, I’ll be there to welcome you into eternity. Now, let’s get to work.”
Essentially, Jesus is saying there’s a job to do and that needs to be your primary focus. All the other extemporaneous thing are not worth your time and energy. Now, that’s not to say that they didn’t think about the secondary things. I’m sure the disciples wondered about food, clothing and shelter but it was not primary. The primary goal was sharing the Kingdom of God in every city they went to. The disciples risked it all, even their lives, to accomplish the goal. Ultimately, 11 of the 12 original disciples would lose their live for their association with and allegiance to Jesus.
So, what’s your primary goal? Is it worth risking your life?
When we think about stepping out and taking the big risk, there is always a need to consider the consequences. There will be consequences to every decision, every risk. Jesus sent out the disciples and He let them know ahead of time about the consequences. They could have backed out at any time. None of them did; they followed through. They went after it because the risk was worth the reward. What they were called to do today trumped their worry about tomorrow.
That’s the lesson – when Jesus says don’t worry about tomorrow, He is simply getting us to realize the weight of today. There is probably a decision, a choice or risk in your life today that you need to make. More than likely, the implications of that decision will affect tomorrow – but you can’t worry about that. The decision needs to be made, the risk needs to be taken. The weight of today is more important that the worry of tomorrow.
Before Jesus says the words in Matthew 6:34 (quoted above), He reminds us about birds and flowers – objects that don’t have the ability to worry yet they still sing and bloom. Worrying about tomorrow doesn’t add any value to today. In fact, Jesus says, it’s pointless (read Matthew 6:25-34).
As you go through today, consider the consequences then make the choice, take the risk. Today is the day you have and it needs your full attention. So…don’t let tomorrow consume you. Step out and get going.
“Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday.” – Unknown
grace and peace,
stan
stanbritton.com 