I am not really a worrier but sometimes. . .
(Matthew 6:34 NCV) So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Man, tomorrow gets heavy, and frightening when we try to live it today, or as with me sometimes in the middle of the night. Sometimes I wake up in a sweat, filled with anxiety.
Do you have those times? Mine could be 5 am, could be 3 am. I am flooded with worry. Worried about one of my children. Worried about finances. Worried about my wife’s health. Pick one. Choose an area of life, and I feel I have been attacked in that area.
It seems that the enemy is pounding me; knee in the gut.
I need truth fast!
Chuck Swindoll says “Pray about everything; worry about nothing.” Even better, God says the same thing.
(Philippians 4:6 MSG) Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.
I need that truth. It becomes my mantra in those spiritual firefights. Pray about everything; worry about nothing. Pray about everything; worry about nothing. Pray about everything; worry about nothing. And do I ever pray.
And I get specific. I pray that God will help me be supportive of my disabled son who gives his utility money to charities. I pray that my daughter will have strength to go on in spite of severe health problems. I pray that my life-partner of 35 years stays around for a long while yet.
Instead of worrying, pray. Thats what Paul wrote. True then and true now. I repeat this truth over and over. It’s like a lifeline, and I allow God to pull me closer and closer to: Give us this day our daily bread (Matthew 6:11 NKJV) .
Its not just a nice idea, or a timely thing to say. It doesnt need a happy face by it. It stands alone; it stands forever; it is the truth of God.
I need to learn that I can trust God for tomorrow by trusting him right now.
And I need to quit trying to carry tomorrow. I’m too old for this stuff.
Okay, I think I can go back to sleep now.
