Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:34
For free downloadable scripture cards to help you overcome worry, click here.
Have you ever struggled with the fear of the future? Does thinking about all the “what-ifs” and things that could happen in the future make your head spin?
Me too, sis!
For years I worried that I might never get married. Through breakup after breakup, I wondered what the future had in store for me. Will I ever get married and have kids? What if I never meet the right person? Will I die alone? Will I ever be able to afford to buy a house on my own?
Now after having been married for a couple of years, I worry about other future events. What if my son doesn’t grow up to be a good Christian? Will I fail in parenting? I also worry that all the time I invest in ministry won’t be fruitful. What if no one reads the blog or my videos don’t truly help women in their walk with God?
It seems the list of worries is endless. But in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus specifically reminds us not to worry about tomorrow. It’s as if He has been reading our journals, or perhaps knows our deepest fears and longings when He says:
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:34
God knows we can’t see or control the future, and that we get a little uneasy at the thought of all those future uncertainties. Rather than trusting Him with tomorrow, He knows we tend to dwell excessively on the what-ifs or worst-case scenarios.
In the passage above, the Greek word that’s translated as anxious or worry (depending on your Bible translation) is merimnaó (μεριμνάω pronunciation: mer-im-NAH-oh). This Greek word carries with it the idea of being distracted, pulled in opposite directions, or divided in parts.
This is exactly what happens when we focus too much on tomorrow—it distracts and pulls us away from today. As Jesus reminds us, “today has enough trouble of its own.” When we constantly ponder what could or might happen in the future, we lose sight of what is happening right now. Our strength is divided and not utilized where it needs to be—on the situations presently in front of us.
So, Jesus tells us not to be anxious about future uncertainties. But how do we do that? How do we stop worrying and start trusting God?
Scripture gives us several tools for overcoming anxiety.
The first is prayer.
1. Pray about everything.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
Prayer allows us to trade our worries and anxieties for His peace. We throw our cares on Him, and He surrounds our hearts with peace and assurance of His love and provision.
Isn’t it better to live fully present in today with the peace of God in our hearts than it is to anxiously toil over thoughts about tomorrow? With the peace of God and a heart and mind at rest, we will make better decisions for today that will carry us into a better tomorrow.
Scripture is full of reminders to cast our cares on Him.
Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7
Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 55:22
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
Psalm 62:8
2. Practice trusting God today.
If we want to trust God with the future, all we need to do is trust God with today. The future is made up of a lot of “todays.” We only ever live in “today” and each day that passes is carrying us into the future.
God is walking with us into the future, day by day. He’s providing for our needs, one day at a time. He asks us to trust Him and live by faith, step by step, with each turn of the calendar’s page.
Corrie Ten Boom once said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
We do not know the future, but He does and we know Him.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
Psalm 139:16
The same God who knows the future chapters of our story is walking with us right now.
We can trust Him with our current season of life, even if it’s not where we would like to be right now. God is at work behind the scenes, working everything out for our good—even right now. In our present situation. God is still fully trustworthy with the details of our lives.
3. Capture thoughts.
While we cannot know or control the future, we can control our worries.
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ
2 Corinthians 10:4-5
Scripture reminds us that our thoughts do not always align with the knowledge of God, and that we have the power to control those thoughts. Just like prisoners of war are taken captive on the battlefield, our own thoughts can be apprehended and made to obey.
Sometimes our thoughts and worries about the future are in contradiction to scripture and the knowledge of God. For example, let’s say I worry that I might lose my job in the future, and I wonder how I will pay my rent if that were to happen. When this worry consumes my thoughts, I forget the promises and character of God. I forget that God is walking through life with me and that He promises to provide for my everyday needs.
We have the power as children of God, to make our thoughts obedient to the knowledge of God. We can remind ourselves of what scripture says and what God has promised to do for those who love Him.
4. Hope in God, not circumstances.
As Christians, we can’t forget that we truly have two futures. One temporary and earthly. The other heavenly and eternal.
While we are not guaranteed an easy future here on earth, we have the steadfast hope and assurance of an incredible future in heaven. Our hope of eternity with God will not be disappointed if we have chosen to follow Jesus.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:3-5
But here on earth, we often experience the disappointments, broken dreams, unmet expectations, and tragedies of living in a fallen world. Our situations often let us down and don’t go as planned, even though we have the comfort that God is walking with us through them.
Yet every valley and every mountaintop we experience in this life is preparing us for eternity. We can’t forget that our faith is presently being tried and we are being refined and purified as we experience daily trials. When we keep this in perspective of our heavenly future that is being prepared for us, we can rest easier knowing that our temporary future is in God’s hands.
God will do what is necessary to finish the work He began in us. Even though it means going through difficult seasons and having to trust Him with each page, and each paragraph of our lives.
Keep trusting God.
As we face each anxiety, each worry about what may or may not happen in the future, let’s remember the words of David the Psalmist.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
Psalm 56:3
Our fears and worries, even though we know they don’t align with the knowledge of God, often find ways to creep back into our minds. Every time they come back, and as often as they do, we can choose to pray and cast our worries back on Him and turn our focus back onto today and what God is doing in our lives right now.
For free downloadable scripture cards to help you overcome worry, click here.
