Start Your Day with a Bible Verse and Reflection

there is a single instruction that can change the posture of your heart for the entire day just yesterday we rested in the promise of psalm 23 the comfort of knowing you are personally cared for like a shepherd watching over his flock today's reading gives us the practical first step to living inside that care let's listen to the words from the gospel of matthew chapter six verse 34 therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself each day has enough trouble of its own this is something a lot of people find confusing at first that's because the explanation most people get is missing a piece does this mean we shouldn't plan for the

future that we shouldn't save for retirement or schedule a doctor's appointment or think about next week's big project no that's not it at all wisdom calls us to plan faithfulness asks us to be good stewards of what we've been given but there is a world of difference between responsible planning and anxious worry planning is an act of the mind it's putting money in a savings account it's putting the meeting on the calendar worry is a state of the heart it's checking your bank account every five minutes consumed by fear it's replaying the difficult conversation in your head a 100 times before it even happens worry steals the peace of today by trying to solve the

problems of tomorrow with today's limited resources the answer is simpler than it first appears look at the second part of the verse for tomorrow will worry about itself it's almost as if tomorrow is a room you don't have the key for yet you can stand outside the door and imagine all the things that might be in there it's a heavy phantom weight you're carrying burdens that don't even exist yet and you can exhaust yourself completely just standing in the hallway but the grace you need to open that door and handle what's inside that grace will be given to you tomorrow it is not available to you today the spiritual food we are given is like manna in the wilderness it is daily

bread just enough for today if we try to hoard it or if we try to demand a supply for the whole week it spoils god's provision for you is perfectly timed you have exactly what you need for this day and that brings us to the final line each day has enough trouble of its own and isn't that the truth this isn't a promise that life will be easy it's a dose of gentle realism there will be a difficult email to answer a child who needs your full attention a moment of frustration or a feeling of being overwhelmed those are today's troubles and the verse is an invitation an invitation to bring your whole self all your energy all your focus all your prayer to this moment to this trouble not the imagined troubles of next month not the relived troubles

of last year but the actual tangible right in front of you tasks and trials of today this is where life is actually lived it's where you'll find the unexpected joy the small moment of connection the sudden clarity that you would have missed if your mind was in next week here's what that means for you right now it means your only job is to handle the one thing in front of you with faithfulness and peace so when you feel that familiar pull of anxiety about the future that what if that spirals in your mind see it for what it is when you feel your shoulders tense up or your breath get shallow let that be your

cue it's an invitation to leave the present moment and you can gently quietly decline that invitation you can bring your attention back this is an act of trust it is saying i trust that the shepherd who provides for me today will also be the shepherd who provides for me tomorrow the peace we talked about yesterday isn't just a feeling it's a choice a choice to trust that the care that covers you today will also meet you in whatever tomorrow holds

you don't have to carry it all in fact you were never meant to your only task is to walk through this day trusting that you are held so take a deep breath the worries of tomorrow are not yours to carry today they are not on your assignment list your focus your strength and your peace are needed for the hours ahead be present to your own life attend to the troubles and the joys of this one day you have been given that is more than enough