“Strength for Today”
“I tell you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they” Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They don’t labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you,, O you of little faith? So don’t worry, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Mt. 6:25-34)
“No worries” is an Australian expression that’s also become popular in this country in recent years. The equivalent American expression might be “no problem,” but I think “no worries” is actually better because it gets at the heart of the matter. In fact, it’s a very biblical attitude: “No need to worry.” That’s really what Jesus is telling us here in this portion of the Sermon on the Mount: “Don’t worry about your life. You’re in good hands. Your Father has it all under control. Just as he cares for the birds or the lilies, so he cares for you.”
When I was a child, I didn’t worry at all--except when I got in trouble and there was a good reason for it! But otherwise I never worried about whether there would be a roof over my head, or food on the table, or clothes to wear. Those things were all provided by my parents simply because I was their child, whom they loved, and I trusted them completely, so much so that I took it all for granted at the time. I’ve read that age 5 is probably the happiest year of a person’s life, for most of us. There’s a photo of me from about that age that I call my “joie de vivre” photo, that reminds me of those carefree years. I’d love to get back to that place of childlike trust and joy.
As Christians, the children of God, God wants us to trust him in the same childlike way. Although now, as adults, we’re keenly aware of life’s fragility. Perhaps it isn’t the necessities like food and clothing and shelter (if we’re fortunate enough to have those blessings), but there’s never a shortage of other things to worry about.
And generally speaking, we all worry too much. (Actually, any amount of worrying is too much. Studies show that only 10-15% of what we worry about ever comes to pass. And not only does it not help anything to worry, but it only creates stress and consequently limits our ability to rise to the challenge when things do go badly.) Worry interferes with our ability to trust God and to enjoy the peace he wants us to have--and to be able to focus and spend our energy on those things that matter most.
As Jesus teaches in this sermon, “The pagans (unbelievers) run after all these things--they worry and stress about their lives for all sorts of reasons--but your heavenly Father knows just what you need. If you seek the higher good of his Kingdom and his righteousness, all the rest will be given to you as well.” In other words, God will always care for us, so we can focus on, and care about, the things of the Spirit. That’s the far more important reality.
And when Jesus says, “You don’t need to worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of itself,” he’s really saying, “Stay in the moment, where God is fully and faithfully present. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” You’ve probably heard the expression, “don’t borrow trouble,” which means don’t worry about all of the “what ifs” we could someday face: a health crisis, a financial setback, the death of a loved one. Don’t borrow trouble from the future. Just take life one day at a time.
As Abraham Lincoln wisely observed, “The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.” That’s how God has designed life, and for us to live it, so we can stay present with him, today, where he’s with us and his grace is always available and sufficient for our needs. The result is “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,” in the words of the beloved hymn (“Great is Thy Faithfulness”). That’s how it’s supposed to work.
Corrie ten Boom, the Dutch Christian whose family harbored Jews during WWII, once confessed to her father her fear of being caught and sent to the death camps. She didn’t know if she could bear that fate. Her father wisely replied, “Corrie, do you remember when you were a little girl and we’d go on a trip together? When would I give you your ticket for the train?” Corrie answered, “At the station.” Her father answered, “And that’s just how God is with us: he’ll give us the grace we need for any situation when that time comes. We don’t need to worry about it in advance. We can rest in that assurance.” As it eventually happened, they were betrayed by a neighbor and her entire family was sent to a camp, where only she survived. And yet, her life after that bore powerful witness to God’s faithfulness and grace, as one of the great Christian missionaries of the 20th Century.
Taking life one day at a time, rather than wasting energy trying to anticipate an unknown--and unknowable--future, also makes life so much simpler and better. We can pay more attention to whatever is right in front of us, being more fully present to life’s opportunities and blessings, and become more appreciative of God’s grace in every circumstance. This is a learned spiritual practice, however, since we have such a stubborn habit of letting fear of the future rob us of joy in the present.
There’s a sport now called “extreme skiing” that you might have seen or heard of, skiers whizzing down steep mountainsides while avoiding their rocky outcroppings, or weaving through a stand of trees. According to successful extreme skiers, it’s all about looking for the open spaces between the trees or rocks, rather than focusing on the obstacles. The skier who’s primarily living in fear of the rocks and trees will probably crash sooner or later. The key is to look for the open spaces and to stay focused on the daylight rather than the dangers.
That’s also true in the Christian life. What we focus on matters, whether it’s our faith or our fears. Life can be like an obstacle course with its share of challenges--but our faith will always find a way through for us, if we focus on the spiritual daylight of God’s grace. As the Apostle Paul writes, “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.” (2 Co. 4:6)
There’s an instructive story about this found in the Old Testament (2 Kings 6) about the prophet Elisha and his servant. They were staying in a certain town and a king hostile to Israel surrounded the city overnight with his forces. When Elisha’s servant arose early in the morning, he looked out over the city wall and saw the enemy’s great army, poised to attack. He ran back to Elisha in a panic to tell him of the danger they were in. But Elisha responded calmly, “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” His servant had no idea what he meant, so Elisha prayed, “Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, “and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” There was a heavenly army surrounding them that had been invisible until his eyes were opened to the realm of the spirit.
We, too, are always being watched over and protected and helped by angels and the powers of the spiritual world--especially Jesus, who is seated at the right hand of God and is interceding for us. That’s an extremely encouraging truth to remember. We’re in the best possible hands.
When we worry, we not only lose our peace of mind and harm our health from stress, but we also grieve God, because it’s an expression of unbelief and a lack of trust in his love and care. What if your children had spent their childhood worrying about whether they’d be taken care of, when you always knew you’d be there for them? Wouldn’t that grieve your heart? I suspect God probably feels the same way. He’s proven himself to us through Jesus’ death on the cross and in countless other ways, and he wants us to trust him with our lives themselves--in all things, both great and small, so that we can know his peace and rest in his faithful love and care.
May God help us to take these things to heart, so that we can know the blessing of living with him in complete peace and trust, and the fullness of joy he desires for us. Amen.
