Matthew 6:32-34 “Your heavenly Father already knows all you needs, and He will give you all you need from day to dat if you live for Him and make the kingdom of God your primary concern. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring it’s own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.“
Worry… surely one of the basic banes of humanity. How much time and energy do we spend worrying? Where does it get us? What good does it pose?
Not much!
Then why do we so instinctively do it!!! It’s human nature to want to be in control. We worry when we are not in control; when we don’t know what will transpire. We naturally fear the unknown.
He Knows What’s Best – So Why Don’t We Trust Him?
However God knows everything. He knows our future and what’s best for us. He knows our strengths, gifts, weaknesses and desires. He created us and knows the way we tick to the tiniest detail. If we believe and trust in ‘God the Creator’, than we must hold true to believing in ‘God the Provider’, otherwise we are inconsistent with our thinking and faith.
Through many experiences, God has taught me much about why I worry and how I can prevent it from consuming me. I have tended to worry about tomorrow and start asking the ‘what ifs’. I found myself being burdened by my past failures and worrying about the negative implications they may have. However God has reminded me that He is greater than my mistakes and can use all things for His greater purpose because He is sovereign. It’s not up to me to ask the ‘what ifs’ but rather to respond to the ‘what ares’.
I have tended to fret about what I have no control over at the expense of the blessings and work God has for me now. I have tended to be driven by what I don’t know instead of what I do know from and of God. One lesson in life that God taught me that I will never forget is this – “Don’t live for tomorrow or dwell in the past at the expense of today”. I realised that if I focus on tomorrow or worry about my past at the expense of missing out on what God would have for me today, I would not only miss out on His blessings, but I would not be living a life honouring and glorifying Him. God wants us to rest our concerns in Him and make His kingdom our primary concern. He wants us to focus on the day at hand and look to how we can live for Him now.
Undermining God’s Sovereignty
Of course that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t plan for the future. That would be irresponsible and unwise. It also doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t look at our past and learn from it; to discover how we can mature as a result of the road we have travelled. However we are not to do it at the expense of today, but rather choose to trust in God with it. To do otherwise is to undermine God’s sovereignty, power and love for us. A poem by an anonymous writer:
What concerns about tomorrow are you allowing to plague your thoughts? What are you fretting about in your past that is robbing you of the work, joys and blessings God has for you today?
Let’s all make the choice not to be anxious about tomorrow or worry about the past, but rather leave it in God’s hands. It’s not easy, and it takes training and a lot of faith. But through the power of God within us (Eph 3:20), we can do it and experience the freedom and beauty of living for God as He intends for us.
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