“I have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened,” said Mark Twain. I can relate. I’ve worried about a great many things in my life – being bitten by an alligator, having a child kidnapped from the mall, my house being repossessed, and getting robbed in the middle of the night. Yep, I’ve managed to stress about a host of things even though they’ve never occurred.
Still I worry. Like Atlas carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, I can carry tomorrow troubles until it crushes all the life out of today.
Spending the rest of my life eating carrots stick and tofu ranks high on my list of borrowed concerns. So, to try to make myself feel better I’m tempted to peer into my cloudy crystal ball, decide in advance that healthy eating will never work out, and use that as an excuse to indulge myself today.
Jesus had something to say about that:
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? …You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6: 25, 31-33
In other words, this is not about food; it’s about faith.
The Israelites in the Old Testament showed this same lack of faith even though they daily experienced incredible generosity from their God. They watched God deliver them from slavery, rescue them from the Egyptian army and make a path through the Red Sea, but they weren’t going to trust Him with the issue of food. No way!
Yet in spite of their grumbling, through forty wilderness years, God met every single one of their needs. He even sent them manna, a heavenly food. But much to their chagrin, He did it ONE DAY AT A TIME.
God has always provided for me, and He always will. But contrary to my fleshly desires, the grace for tomorrow won’t show up today. Instead, He asks me to trust Him and know that at the moment of need, He will be there.
Matthew 6:34 wisely says, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
“Dear Father, help me to live one day at a time, just one day at a time.”
How About You?
Are you borrowing tomorrow’s cares? How can you live to learn one day at a time?
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Kim, you’re choice of Bible verse today made me smile. It’s the same verse I felt led to read this morning during my quiet time! I love it when “coincidences” like that happen. And the last part of this passage: “. . . But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,” has been running through my head all day-before I logged onto your blog.
I’ve been seeing God working in my life big time in the past few months. Things I have been stuck in, situations that seemed impossible to me, worries that other things wouldn’t come through in time-God is answering my prayers and I’m amazed and in awe of his love for me and the reality that obedience (whether we feel like it or not) is required for a reason. God’s timing isn’t ours but He does know best and it’s amazing to see what happens in a tiny little time period when I let Him have the wheel.
Hi Joyous,
I love when God works in ‘themes,’ and it sounds like He is really working in your life.
It’s wonderful to hear that He is answering your prayers, moving you out of ‘stuckness’ and drawing you closer to Him all at the same time. What an amazing God! Thanks for sharing
I’m with you Kim - if I can imagine it I can worry about it…and to think how contradictory that is for a Christ-follower. Almost always the answer is what both you and Joy point out - “seek first his kingdom” - I’m realizing that just about anything that I can find to frustrate, anger or tempt me is really something that can actually be something that calls me to draw closer to God. Must admit I don’t always - more like rarely - do that as a first response. This study is helping me become much more aware of seeking God first as a primary response. Hmmmm…maybe it’s the only response?
Hi Lucinda,
Your comment reminds me of this wise saying, “We become what we behold!”
Praying that all of us will turn our gaze to Him as we go through this day…
I sure am glad that this is a one-day-at-a-time battle, and that His mercies are new every morning. Getting back on the program is harder every time I stray. Today will be better!
Good for you for getting back on the program. God’s mercy is indeed a wonderful thing! Have a great day drawing closer to Him.
Susan - it’s the same for all of us; persevere!