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“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34

Have you ever worried about tomorrow? I sure have. There are times I had so much going on that I started worrying. You can have so much on your plate, so many coals in the fire, that when you look at your situation for the next day, you say “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Worrying can make you sick. It can have you making some quick and bad decisions. If the truth be told, most of us who worry are being crucified between two thieves, yesterday and tomorrow. We kill today because of what happened yesterday, and we sometimes become too scared today because of what may happen tomorrow. Today is today, and tomorrow is tomorrow. I share this word because so many times we need to just reflect on our actions and how we worry too much.

As long as you are on earth, you will never run out of tomorrows. There will always be a tomorrow. So until you learn to make today what today is supposed to be, and that is learning how to embrace today, live for this day, or you will find yourself living your life being bound either by yesterday or by tomorrow — possibly chained between both.

In the Scripture above, Jesus is teaching a sermon on the mount. He shares a lot to His disciples and to all of us to not worry. We can’t add anything to our life by worrying about it. He shares that we are to let tomorrow take care of itself. Let tomorrow stay in tomorrow and live in the present day He has given you. We must learn to trust Him in our tomorrows. We already know He has control of tomorrow. The world was framed and formed by God alone.
I would like to challenge you to change one thing and watch that one thing change everything else. Jesus wanted to make sure we understood one practical thought — we must put Him first, and all other things will fall in place. Make Him first in your thoughts, hopes and decisions. Put Him first in how you spend your time. Place Him first in how you view the world around you. You can’t worry about what’s happening in our world, our country, or our homes. We have a God who is so many steps ahead of us, and He knows all things. Try pleasing Him first, honoring Him first, giving to Him first, and all else will fall in line.

God doesn’t say that to put Him first is a request. This is a demand from a deserving Creator. But when you choose to obey this principle in your life, you will reap the benefits of experiencing the abundant life, and Christ came that you may have this life and have it more abundantly. God’s got your back when you put Him first. He has you covered when you place His will and His kingdom as the first priority in all that you do, say and think.

I can’t change yesterday, nor can I control tomorrow. But I do have a say in what happens today. It matters in what I think, what I choose, what I do. I must know that all of my time, my life, my all is in His hands. Just like me, we all must learn to trust Him. Let tomorrow come — love, laugh and live for today.

The Rev. Joseph A. Perry is pastor of St. Mark AME Zion Church. Contact him at josephp134@gmail.com.