Don't Borrow Trouble From Tomorrow

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.” (Mt 6:34 AV)

That last phrase throws a lot of people.  To use a modern phrase, we might say, don’t borrow trouble from tomorrow.  The trouble you have today is enough.  Jesus is not telling us to live a careless life with no plans for future problems.  We know some things are certain.  We can predict other things with rather certainty.  We know winter is coming.  Never thinking of it and waiting until there is a foot of snow on the ground before we unpack the shovels or buy salt is simply foolish.  This is not what Jesus is advising.  That type of advice runs contrary to the book of Proverbs.  Rather, we should prepare as best we can for what might be coming tomorrow.  However, the advice of our Savior is to not be preoccupied by what tomorrow might bring.  No matter how much preparation we make, tomorrow, with its trouble, will come.  So, living in the fear of tomorrow when we have adversities of today is adding to our stress unnecessarily. As John Gill wrote, “It is very wrong to anticipate trouble, or meet it before hand; if it was for no other reason but this, that every day’s trouble is enough, and should not be needlessly added to, by an over concern what shall be done for tomorrow; or how shall the necessities of it be answered, or the trials of it be endured.”

Obsessing about tomorrow can sap energy needed for today.  Winter is coming upon us.  Last winter, we had a rough time.  The first serious snowfall was a wet and heavy one.  The crews waited for several days before they came out and cleared the streets.  By then, the snow had packed down into ice.  Where we live, we have a crew that comes out and clears around the church property.  But they can do only so much.  If the city is not on top of clearing the streets, it becomes impossible for my crew to do their job.  What could have been done with equipment must now be done by hand.  Such was the case with us.  I pastor a small church.  I have very few who can help.  I am getting up there in age.  I remember shoveling as best I could and not having a good time of it.  What should have been a four foot wide sidewalk became an eighteen-inch one.  All of that snow had to be cleared by hand.  As I worked, it became evident this was not going away in one day.  I knew, because of the forecast, I would be out shoveling for several days.  Our church was also going through growing pains and my wife was recovering from cancer surgery.  All this heaped on my soul.  All I could do was to think of what might come tomorrow.  More snow.  More doctor’s appointments.  More struggles to grow a small city church. Etc.

Our LORD tells us to take one day at a time.  Prepare as best you can, but live one day at a time.  This is the key to getting through some of the hardest times of life.  There is a saying I heard while living in the south.  When describing a daunting task, they would say it was like eating an elephant.  One bit at a time.  That is how we have to look at life sometimes.  Life is too hard to live it all at once.  It has to be lived one day at a time.  Don’t worry, the trouble for tomorrow will come.  The trials of next year are unavoidable.  As the LORD gets you through today’s challenges, He will do so tomorrow, next week, next year, and for the rest of your life.  We cannot borrow trouble from tomorrow.  If we do, we will not be able to navigate the trouble of today.  God is here now.  He will be there then, as well.