Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.Matthew 6:34
What it meant to those who heard it. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." The older English sounds grand, but the idea is very down to earth. Each day has enough trouble of its own. A modern speaker might say, "Today has enough on its plate."
Notice how honest this is. Jesus does not say tomorrow will be easy. He takes it as given that trouble will come. Life in Roman-ruled Galilee was uncertain, with taxes, illness, and poor harvests. His listeners did not need to be told life was hard. What He offers is a limit. Today's trouble belongs to today.
Worry has a way of pulling tomorrow's weight onto this morning's shoulders. We can live through next winter's bills and next year's illness a hundred times before any of it comes. Sometimes it never does. Meanwhile, today goes unlived.
None of this rules out sensible preparation. Joseph stored grain for the lean years, after all. A will or a budget is good stewardship. The difference is between planning for tomorrow once and carrying it around all day. So make your plan, write it down, and then come back to this one day. It is the only one you have been asked to live just now.
If it helps, try a small habit tonight or this morning. Write tomorrow's concern on a slip of paper with the one step you can take for it. Put the paper in a drawer. It is not forgotten. It is simply waiting for its own day, and you are free to come back to this one.
A question for today: What part of tomorrow have you already started carrying? What would it mean to leave it where it is?
A prayer:
Lord, give me today's strength for today's load.
Keep my heart from living in tomorrow.


