One principle that was very much a part of the regular teachings of Jesus was the admonition not to worry about tomorrow.  I don't think most people would argue that we struggle mightily with worry.  We call it different names to make it more acceptable but it is still exactly what Jesus was referring to.  We call it being responsible, being a parent, being human, or just having a lot on our minds.  And sure some of this is legitimate, but it is often just a cover up for our efforts to do something that Jesus warned against.  He said do not be anxious about tomorrow.

No matter how we disguise it, the energy and thought that we put into trying to deal with the future in a way that requires us to have more control than we really do is a futile waste.  The amount of time that I spend today in fear, worry, dread, or anxiously considering different scenarios is contrary to wise and healthy living.  And the worst part is that it actually makes tomorrow worse.  All of us would love to have control over our future.  The results of a medical test, the future state of an important relationship, our long term financial condition, the kind of adults our children will become, are all things that are very important to us.

The importance of a matter does not change the reality that it has boundaries.  When Jesus said don't be anxious about tomorrow he was making a vital point about the nature of our being.  He wasn't simply creating a rule that we would have to follow or be considered disobedient.  He was saying I want your life to be good and lived from a sound platform.  You will never have any access to tomorrow no matter how important an issue is.  There is no door or window to tomorrow.  Neither your brain nor your heart has a way to pass through the boundary.  Tomorrow will exist unto itself.

The main reason that Jesus said we shouldn't be anxious about tomorrow is because today is large enough for all our attention.  Pouring ourselves into the present keeps us from living in the past or the future.  Our view of tomorrow is greatly affected by how we see ourselves today.  Jesus is saying in a sense that the reason you are worried about tomorrow is because you are not properly handling today.  Today has enough importance and value and worth to demand all my attention.  Today is a day worth living if I bring my whole self to it.

Tomorrow will be just like today in many ways.  Today if I have little faith in God and His care for me, tomorrow will be the same.  Today if I believe that all the things that matter are up to me to fix and retain, tomorrow will be the same.  Today if I am selfish and angry and discouraged, tomorrow will be the same.  Today if I don't know God or give Him time and opportunity to enter my life, tomorrow will be the same.  But what if today I began to live life the way I know it should be lived?  Wouldn't tomorrow be seriously affected?  Would I not have the greatest possible effect on tomorrow imaginable if I lived today better?

If you are worried about tomorrow it is because you believe you are alone today.   I don't know what tomorrow holds.  But I know that tomorrow is not unbounded.   I know that the possibilities for tomorrow are not up to fate or chance.  I know that tomorrow has boundaries that are kept and maintained by the same God who has helped and protected me for all these years.  I am not alone today and I won't be alone tomorrow.  Tomorrow will be a day that takes everything I have to live it well but I will have everything I need.

Paul said that the cure for worry was to pour our hearts out to God in prayer and thanksgiving.  This is the vital answer to worry.  By putting all our concerns and requests before God in prayer we express and demonstrate who holds the future.  By filling our prayers with expressions of gratitude we express who held us in the past.

Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Psalms 118:24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Philippians 4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.