Joy in the Toil

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

– Matthew 6:34 ESV

Anxiety is not all bad. In fact, it serves a very useful function when kept in its proper place. The part of the brain where anxiety originates is designed to respond to potential threats. We need to be able to predict possible bad outcomes and respond before they happen. It’s why you don’t let a small child run out into the street. We know that even if there is not a car coming at this moment, there could be one that comes and that could result in a very bad outcome. There is a very important distinction about this scenario that helps to differentiate useful anxiety from bad anxiety. There is something in front of you that you can directly respond to. Anxiety becomes a problem when we start to worry about things that we don’t have the ability to change.

In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus teaches about anxiety and challenges us not to worry about what we will eat or drink or wear. In this admonition, Jesus is not encouraging us to quit our jobs and leave things to happenstance. Rather, he is touching on the reality that there are things that are very important in our daily lives that we do not have total control over. It doesn’t matter how hard you work, sometimes things happen outside of our control and leave us in a position where we are in need of the basic things for survival. What Jesus is trying to convey is that God already knows our needs before we do, and he is going to be the one who meets the need. There is nothing that we can do sometimes to stop something bad from happening, and worrying about it will not change the outcome. In verse 27 Jesus says, “And which one of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” The irony of this statement is that stress and anxiety are actually both contributing factors to shortening our lives.

Tomorrow will come, or it will not. You cannot change that. There are some things that you can do today that may influence what happens tomorrow but cannot know for certain. No matter what you do, things will happen tomorrow that you have no power to change. This can be either a terrifying or comforting reality. It can be terrifying if you allow yourself to become consumed by all the things that could happen and become overwhelmed by your inability to control them, or it can be comforting to know that you don’t have to worry about tomorrow, cause it won’t change anything anyways. Through Christ we are offered the freedom to live unburdened by tomorrow, because we can life today with the knowledge that we have a heavenly Father who sees our needs before we do and will meet them when they arise. Jesus is not telling us that bad things won’t happen. They will. The promise is that he will be with us and meet our needs when they arise. So in the wise words of Timon and Pumba, “Hakuna matata.” You have a God who loves you and knows your needs before you do. As long as we are living our lives for him, he promises to take care of them.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

– Matthew 6:33 ESV

Image by Albrecht Fietz from Pixabay