From the lips of Jesus we read,

“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.” (Matthew 6:34)

I’m sure you remember the song Linda Randle made famous, “One Day At A Time.”

There’s a lotta wisdom in the lyrics of that famous song. I love the words of the chorus, especially, where it says, 

“One day at a time, sweet Jesus

That’s all I’m asking of You

Just give me the strength to do everyday what I have to do.

Yesterday’s gone, sweet Jesus

And tomorrow may never be mine.

Lord help me today. Show me the way.

One day at a time.” 

I believe that’s at the heart of what Jesus is saying to each of us from our verse for today when He says, “Take therefore no thought (stop worrying) for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” The good thing about the future is that it doesn’t hit you all at once. If you could see every event in your entire life (good and bad) laid out ahead of you, it would no doubt be overwhelming. So God gives it to you in bite-size, 24-hour segments.

BORROWED TROUBLE! 

 Since God gives you only one day at a time, you can conclude that’s how he expects you to approach your life. Live one day at a time, and make it count. The NLT translation states our verse this way, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Jesus cautions each of us to stop borrowing trouble. If there’s something happening next week, why are you messing up today by worrying about it today? Worry can’t change the past. It can’t control the future. Worry only makes you miserable today. After one pastor’s sermon about worry, a dear lady came up to him and said, “Pastor, don’t preach to me that worrying doesn’t help! Everything I worry about never happens!”  The truth is that God gives you all the grace you need, but just enough for today, every day. He doesn’t stockpile all that power in your life and then give it to you for the next week or month. He says to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11).

He wants you to take life one day at a time.

PLAN FOR TOMORROW BUT LIVE FOR TODAY!

When you don’t know what the future holds, you can still take life one day at a time. That’s all you are meant to do! When everything is uncertain and you don’t know how to make wise decisions for the future, then just take care of today. It’s important to plan, pray, and trust God for the future, but he expects you to put your energy into making today count too.

A great way to do this is to reduce your media intake. Shut off Fox News, Instagram and, yes, even Facebook for a season. Focus instead on the things God loves and cares about, like your spiritual growth and caring for the people who need your help right now. That’s how you make the day count. God doesn’t want you to worry about tomorrow, but he doesn’t want you to consider it a guarantee either.

The Bible says, “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” In other words, “Don’t brag about what you’re going to do tomorrow; you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow including what could happen on a given day.” (Proverbs 27:1). When everything else in life seems unclear, this is about as clear as you can get. So, plan for tomorrow but live for today. God will give you everything you need to be obedient in both.

WHAT ABOUT YOU, TODAY?

What is one thing you can’t control that has been stressing you out? Worry takes a lot of energy! How can you redirect that energy to accomplish or work toward something today. In what ways would thoughtful planning help you make the most of today? Sing to the Lord, “Yesterday’s gone, sweet Jesus

And tomorrow may never be mine.

Lord, help me today. Show me the way.

One day at a time.”

Think it over . . .

Doug Pierce is a Church planter and a pastor. In 2003 he started, and continues to pastor First Independent Methodist Church in Madison, Mississippi. His #1 priority is to glorify God in all aspects of ministry. He does this through teaching his congregation to Love God, Love One Another, and Love Others to God. Prayer, outreach, and church growth through evangelism are vital parts of his ministry. He and his wife Suzanne live in Madison, Mississippi where they also enjoy their children and grandchildren. To find out more about Doug‘s ministry visit the FIMC Website

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