34: Anxiety over what shall be tomorrow betrays a lack of faith in the One Who holds today in His hand. Tomorrow is His property. He alone holds the keys to the future. Many, who would try to know the future by questionable means, are trying to unlock a secret purposely withheld from them. Our perception of, and existence in, time is given to us by God Almighty. We are not meant to know tomorrow today, but to trust Him with both.
Jesus here personifies tomorrow, as if it may worry about itself. Tomorrow represents any time yet future. The illustration is meant to emphasize the fact that God has given today to us. Yesterday may not be changed, and tomorrow may not be known, and today must not be wasted trying to do either.
The final line of this verse, in which Jesus comments on the evil coming tomorrow, was a fairly common saying in his day. Wisdom will tell us not to add anxieties to each other, for one day’s worries are more than enough to keep anybody busy.
Daily Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 7:1-10:20
Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:12 “These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;”
Daily Tidbit: Jesus uses in Matthew 6:34 what is called a prosopopeia. He treats tomorrow as if it were a person, giving it the ability to worry about itself. Such was a rhetorical practice of the ancient Greeks, and it is still used regularly today.
Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, thank You for knowing the best use of time. We spend our lives trying to understand the mercy of today. You do not pile upon us our future and past, but ask us only to write the present as we would have them to read. May our pen always put down that which You would have, for then we may author, by Your power, a warm and engaging novel that inspires all who read it. As others audit our life, may they find strength for their own long journey. Oh Father, may we cause others to see Your glory! It is never a disappointment to tell a tale of Your serendipitous provisions and copious love gifts to us. I thank You for You, for You are the greatest gift which I might receive. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for a man with a weak immune system who is sick. Pray for a woman with gout. Pray for a woman with a silent request. Pray for a man who is sick. Pray for a woman who had hip surgery this week.
Personal Journal Entry #12206