ANXIETY

Matthew 6:34: 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.

Think of the cares that would be cancelled if we could escape anxiety about tomorrow. Most feel safe about today, but the tomorrows are tough. Tomorrow the house payment is due. Tomorrow is the final day of grace on the insurance premium. Tomorrow is the day of your appointment with the doctor. Tomorrow somebody may push the button that plunges the world into another war.

But what if tomorrow does hold unknown trials? Is worry likely to change anything? Ian McClaren wrote: "What does your anxiety do? It does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but it empties today of its strength. It does not make you escape evil -- it makes you unfit to cope with it if it comes.

The Lord's call to avoid anxiety about tomorrow followed His instruction about priorities in life today: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).

Giving God first place is an act of faith. And faith conquers anxiety. George Mueller declared: "The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith." The beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.

There is, however, a difference between faith that is mere profession and real faith. False faith may go through all the motions and impress all the right people, but it will not hold up in the pressures of daily experience. True faith is anchored in the promises of God. And they will endure through all your tomorrows.