Focus on Today
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”. Matthew 6:34
I have posted a couple of blogs on this same verse, one in 2018 and one in 2020, but I can’t seem to get away from this important truth that Jesus spoke in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) because it is a word for every single person. I find that to not worry about the future can be a real exercise in futility. I know that God has everything in control, and nothing will happen that He doesn’t already know about and of which He is monitoring all aspects, but I suppose it is the uncertainty of events that will undoubtedly occur tomorrow or the next day or the next for all of us humans that makes it difficult to at least not be concerned about ourselves and our families particularly as the evil increases in our nation and in the world.
One of the promises that Jesus made which is found in John 16:33 is that He has overcome the world. We know that He overcame sin and death at the cross, but just to look out across the landscape of America and beyond, one would wonder exactly what that means as far as the things that we see which defy our imaginations as to the actions, thoughts, and ideas of people who do not know Christ. Many people have no fear of God any longer. They shake their fist in His face and dare Him to stop them. That is exactly what the people of Israel and Judah did thousands of years ago when they rebelled against Him and turned to idolatry. People are turning to idolatry today. Anything that is put before God is an idol. We know that many worship wealth, fame, and power, but other seemingly less obvious things become idols. To ignore God, fail to worship and serve Him, is an idolatrous way of life because it puts those who ignore Him in the place of Him. People worship themselves. Many folks have no concern at all for eternity. They haven’t been taught God’s word, thus they have no idea of what lies ahead when they pass away, nor do they seem to care.
Because I am a “senior” citizen, my main fear is that I will become unable to care for myself or develop dementia at some point in the future. I work hard at trying to stay healthy, but that is no assurance that I will not face some trying health problems in the future. I’ve seen too many older folks who have had their share of health issues so I may not be able to escape them either. When I begin to fret about this worry or other things that worry me, I stop and say to myself, “Today is the only day about which I need to be concerned. If something happens out of the ordinary that I don’t expect, I know that Jesus will be there, and everything will work out as He has planned”. It is a big waste of time to worry about tomorrow because most of the stuff that we worry about never happens. And what does happen is usually nothing like we anticipated. Besides, we usually can’t do anything about them so why worry?
Also, in John 16, Jesus told us many ways that He cares for us. He sent the Holy Spirit to us as a Comforter who leads us into all truth. He said that He will come again, and whatsoever we ask in His name, His Father will give it to us. “Ask and we will receive”, He promised. He is our Mediator to the Father. He stands before the Father and is our Advocate, our defense Attorney. These are promises to those who believe in Him. The lost world cannot receive these promises because they have not received Him. Jesus is the One who makes it all happen. He gave us these words of hope in order that we may have peace, but He also warned that we would have tribulation in this world. Nevertheless, He said to “be of good cheer” for He has overcome the world.
Each 24-hour period is a gift from God. He wants us to use this gift to live for Him, to spread His word, to be an encouragement to others, to help others with their burdens and to shed the light of Christ on their paths as they sojourn this earth, to spend time in His word so that we will know how to live each day, and to keep in communication with Him through the privilege of prayer.; If we are diligent to do all these things in addition to all the daily activities, chores, and errands that we must do, then there would be little time to worry and fret. I was counseled one time to set aside 15 or 20 minutes a day and lump all my worrying into that time frame. It didn’t really work all that well for me. What does work is staying busy, accomplishing positive and helpful deeds, and, most of all, keeping my mind on Jesus, knowing that He is watching over me. Why should we squander this gift with worry?