The Lord has been convicting my heart so much lately about learning how to entrust my unknowns to Him and to not be anxious about what tomorrow holds. There have been things I have prayed about for years that haven't been fulfilled, and my heart has wondered if those things will ever come to pass. There are difficult situations that I have faced for so long and it starts to feel as though they will never end. I've started fretting over situations that might come in the future that I have no idea how to handle, and yet they're not even right in front of me yet. And then in the midst of all of this stress that has been weighing me down, the Lord brought me to this passage and immediately my heart was both extremely convicted + extremely put at ease...
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." ~Matthew 6:25-34
As children of the Most High God, we are not called to live a life of fear, but rather, one of trust. It's so easy to say that we trust in the Lord, and yet we prove that we actually still want control when we cannot rest in knowing the Lord holds our future + unknowns. We miss out on the supernatural joy and the peace that we have access to in Christ when we spend our time and energy fretting over things that haven't even come yet.
"What if I can't provide for my family? What if I never get married? How will I know how to handle that situation if it comes? What if I make the wrong decision? What if I don't have what it takes to carry out my role as a ____?"
You see, we live in a culture that is all about having your life figured out, getting the right degree, knowing your 5-year business plan, and having the security of knowing exactly where you're headed. And yet, that kind of life isn't what I see promised in Scripture. It's not wrong to have a vision — we should be prudent and looking ahead and making plans...and yet after all of that, it is the LORD who directs our steps. We are not promised answers for tomorrow — we are given grace for TODAY. The Lord's mercies are new every morning, and sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Corrie Ten Boom said it so perfectly — "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength." When we truly think about it, there is no logical point to being anxious about tomorrow because the moment a situation is placed in front of us, there will be grace there to meet us.
Friend, the Lord sees your exact situation and He knows precisely what you are up against today. He sees and He CARES. He knows what you need, and He has promised to supply all of those needs. If the enemy of our souls can convince us that our Heavenly Father has forgotten + forsaken us, then he has us right where he wants us — living in a place of total fear, discouragement, and abandonment. But if we learn to cling to Scripture that says that we are of more value than many sparrows, and that if He cares for even the lilies of the valley, HOW MUCH MORE will He take care of you...then anxiety cannot rule us.
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." ~Lamentations 3:22-23
He already knows what tomorrow holds for you and there is nothing that could come that will catch Him off guard. No matter what comes your way, His mercies will be new that day to meet you and to carry you. There is a supernatural strength that comes when we learn to fully depend on our Heavenly Father and rest in who He is — and yet we will not experience that strength if we choose to look at our circumstances rather than the Lord and fret ourselves over what we cannot see and what we do not know.
How comforting it is to have a Heavenly Father who cares! He has promised to never leave you or forsake you, therefore there is no reason to fear. When we truly know + remind ourselves of the nature of our God, trust will be the only logical option. Let's learn to cast our cares upon Him, leave tomorrow's worries in His hands, and walk in the joy, peace, and strength that is ours in Christ Jesus!
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." ~Jeremiah 17:7-8