When You Can't Stop Worrying About Tomorrow

Maybe you woke up already counting the bills, and the what-ifs, and the weeks still ahead. Today hasn't even started, and you can't stop worrying about tomorrow. Jesus spoke to that kind of worry, and this morning we'll hear what He said. Let's bring this to God together.

In Matthew chapter six, verses thirty-one through thirty-four, Jesus says this to His disciples.

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:31-34

This is from the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus taught on a mountainside with the crowds listening in.

Being told not to worry rarely quiets a worried mind. It usually feels like one more thing we're getting wrong. But listen to how Jesus says it. He gives a reason, right in the middle of what we just heard. The Father already knows what you need.

Maybe you're at the kitchen counter with the kettle on, adding up the month. The rent. The insurance. A tooth you keep putting off. And behind the numbers, the what-ifs. Your hours getting cut. The furnace dying in January. A few lines earlier, Jesus says this.

Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Matthew 6:26

Jesus isn't against planning. A budget is wise, and so is paying a bill on time. The worry He means runs the numbers at four in the morning and gets nowhere. And look what He says about you. To the Father, you're worth much more than the birds.

Then He says to seek first the kingdom of God. That means putting God's rule first in your life, even while you ask Him for what you need. He says all these things will be added, and He means the basics He just named. Food, drink, and clothes. He isn't promising wealth. Paul himself knew hunger at times. What Jesus gives us is a Father who knows what we need and cares for His children.

That Father sent His Son to die for our sins and rise again. We don't earn His care by worrying less, and we don't lose it by worrying more. Through Jesus, you come to Him as His child.

Earlier in the same sermon, Jesus taught His disciples to pray like this.

Give us this day our daily bread.

Matthew 6:11

This day's bread. The prayer asks for today. Then Jesus says tomorrow will worry about itself. He doesn't pretend today is easy. He gives you permission to carry only today's trouble, and to leave tomorrow's with the Father until tomorrow comes.

Some weights are too heavy even for one day. In Psalm fifty-five, David is in real pain, and he says a close friend has turned on him. In the middle of it, he writes this.

Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.

Psalm 55:22

David is hurting as he writes that, so it can't promise a life without hard days. It says God will hold up His people through them.

And if worry has grown into something you can't shake for weeks, tell someone. A friend, a pastor, or a doctor can help, and God often cares for us through people like that.

Let's pray. You can pray these words with me, out loud or in your heart.

Father, I come to You this morning through Jesus. He died for my sins and rose again, and because of Him I'm welcome here, worries and all. I don't have to pray this well. By Your Spirit, help me pray.

You're my heavenly Father. You know what I need before I've found the words. You feed the birds, and You've never lost track of one. Tomorrow is no mystery to You, and neither is the end of this month. You gave Your own Son for me, so I know Your heart toward me is good.

This is what's been going on in me. Before today began, I was already living in next month. I've added up what I owe and what might break, and then I've added it up again. I keep thinking harder, as if that could make me safe. Some of it's plain fear, and You know that. Some of it's believing everything depends on me. Forgive me for that, Father. Forgive me for acting as if You'd forgotten me.

Jesus taught me where to begin, so I'll begin there.

Give us this day our daily bread.

Matthew 6:11

That's what I'm asking for today. Give me what I need for these hours. Show me what's mine to do. Maybe it's a call I should make, or a budget I need to look at honestly, or someone I should finally ask for help. Give me the courage to do that part, and then help me stop. When the what-ifs start up again, bring me back to this hour. And by Your Spirit, steady my mind enough to think clearly.

Your Son also told me what to look for first.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness

Matthew 6:33

So let what You want matter more to me today than what I'm afraid of. Rule over my plans and my money. I want to care about the right things first.

You've shown me what to do with the weight I can't carry. Your word says, “Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you”. So I'm handing You the bills. I'm handing You the what-ifs, the ones I can name and the ones I can't. I don't know how this month ends, and I don't need to know. I need You in it. If hard days come anyway, hold me up through them, the way You promised.

Jesus said one more thing about tomorrow.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:34

Then I'll leave tomorrow with You until it gets here. When I'm tempted to pick it back up this morning, remind me that You're already there.

I pray for others who woke up counting. For someone who's behind on rent and hasn't told anyone. For a parent who skipped a meal so the children could eat. Provide for them, Father, and let me be part of that provision wherever You can use me. And for everyone praying these words with me right now, give them what they need for today.

Walk with me into this day. When I catch myself living in next month, turn me back to the work in front of me. Let me be thankful for what's already on the table. Help me be kind to the people near me, even when I'm tired. And tonight, when I lie down, let me rest. I'll ask You for tomorrow's bread tomorrow.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Take a moment of quiet now, and bring Him whatever's in front of you today.

Hear this blessing from Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17