“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:34 NLT)
Read it again.
So don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries. (Matthew 6:34 ERV)
WHAT STICKS OUT?
Tomorrow versus today
WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE?
I enjoy the science fiction stories that break the boundaries of reality for the purpose of exposing a truth that otherwise we wouldn't see. That was the type of picture the Holy Spirit showed me for this verse.
>>>MAN TODAY<<<
"Hey! I built this time portal so I could see what happens tomorrow and plan for it."
Doesn't that sound great? You could catch any problem before it happens and be ready for it! You'd know to take your car to the shop before it even breaks down. You'd be able to study for that pop quiz. You'd never plan a picnic on a rainy day. But what is the cost?
>>>MAN TOMORROW<<<
"Hold on...This guy over here won't talk to me because he's looking into a time portal."
Wait? Is the man from tomorrow talking about himself? He's the one looking into a time portal and won't talk to the man from today. Actually the man from tomorrow is trying to talk to the man from the day after tomorrow, but that man is too busy looking into a time portal too. You can guess that this deadlock is happening every day in the future as well. Here's where we can clearly see a truth through science fiction that we struggle with in the real world. If you could see into the future just one day, would that satisfy your need to keep bad things from happen? No! Then you'd need to see a week into the future. Then you'd need to see a year into the future and so on indefinitely. So when you'd look into the future at yourself, all your future self would be doing is looking into the future too. More and more of your time would be spent trying to see into the future. Less and less time would actually be spent in the time God has given you right now. This is a self-destructive plan because it destroys its original purpose. The reason you want to know what will happen tomorrow is to improve your life today, but you're actually spending all your time looking at tomorrow and none of your time is spent actually doing what matters right now.
Can you see how this science fiction metaphor reveals the same truth about worry? Worrying about the future is like trying to look into a time portal. It may seem like focusing on tomorrow's problems is helping you plan for the long run, but most of the time you're actually distracting yourself from doing what you're supposed to do right now. Don't let regrets from the past or fears of the future stop you from living in this moment. God has forgiven your past, and God is in control of the future. You are only in control of what you do in this fraction of a second. Make it count by focusing on your time right now!
Author's Note: The Holy Spirit gave me the idea for this drawing while I was at work. I didn't have any supplies so I had to draw it on a Post-It note. Here's what it looked like.
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