Prayer To Follow Jesus' Word and Not Worry About Tomorrow

 DON’T WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW

Some of the most welcome words in life and certainly in recovery circles are, "One day at a time" or "Just for today."  These are principles that help take the weight of the past and of the future off our shoulders, and help us deal with life in a way that is more realistic.  These sayings are ways to express Jesus' teaching.

So don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries.  (Matthew 6:34 ERV)

These words can be found in the most famous record of Jesus' teaching called, "The Sermon on the Mount."  Jesus had just been speaking about some of the things we worry about – money, clothes, food – and encouraged His followers to believe that God cares very much for them and will provide for their need.  Jesus uses examples of birds and flowers to remind us of how much attention to detail we can expect from God. 

Instead of worrying, Jesus' advice is to seek God and His plans for the day and do what God says.  If we do, we can trust God to take care of everything else.

What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need.  (Matthew 6:33 ERV)

We are not encouraged to live in denial and bury our heads in the sand.  There are things we will need to deal with today and not all of them will be easy.  But, God will meet our need and at the end of the day we will have further instances to share of God’s faithful care and guidance. 

As we learn to live one day at a time, it is essential that we come to God with a willingness and intention to surrender our will and our life to His care.  He might stretch us more than we think in a certain situation because He knows best how to mature our faith, but He will never give us more than we can handle.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, Your Word tells me not to worry about my life or the things of tomorrow.  Forgive me for my lack of confidence in Your ability to work everything together for my good.   Please help me to deal with those things I can, and to make changes where necessary.  Help me to leave those things I cannot change in Your care.  Amen