Changing Our Mindset

We need to learn an important lesson regarding how God provides for His people. It’s just five words, ‘one day at a time’. When God provided manna for His people in the wilderness it was just enough for a single day (except before the Sabbath). There were some who couldn’t quite trust God to meet their need each day, so they gathered extra, only to find it was completely rotten by morning. Their efforts to extend God’s provision in their own strength failed dismally.

Worrying about a tomorrow (the future) that we can do nothing about is like trying to store up manna for tomorrow. It doesn’t last because it’s intended to be fresh each day. Part of the problem we face here is that we can recall God’s provision in the past, we can know His presence and provision in the present, but we haven’t met Him in the future, so we struggle to believe He’s going to be there.

The manna God provided is a good illustration of God’s grace. We receive all that we need for today. Tomorrow we start anew. God’s grace will be there for us, but we have to trust Him for it, just as the Israelites in the wilderness had to for their manna. God kept His word to them and they didn’t go without for forty years.

Worrying about tomorrow is the enemy getting us to torment ourselves through a list of ‘what if’s’. What if I lose my job? What if I run out of money? What if I get cancer, dementia, or lose my sight? What if I can’t find someone to love me? What if I lose my partner? What if I end up alone and lonely? What if I make a mistake and end up in the wrong place or job, or with the wrong partner because I didn’t hear from God? What if God were to give up on me because I keep failing?

Sadly, the list is almost endless. This is why the verse we started with is so important. Paul tells us that these are ‘imaginations’ and they’re the enemy feeding us the very worst case scenarios to destroy our peace. Paul’s antidote from God is to cast them down and take them captive. It’s to trust Him for tomorrow, and not worry about it. After all, you can’t change tomorrow, only God can do that.

I’m not saying don’t pray about tomorrow. I’m saying give it over to God and await the grace (manna) you need to arrive just when you need it, and know it will be sufficient for just that day. Someone said that worrying about tomorrow is paying interest today on a loan you haven’t taken out yet. That’s quite profound when you think about it.

So, let’s give to God our fears about the ‘what if’s’ of tomorrow and stop wasting our time and energy on them, as it just drains us dry of joy and hope. Instead, let’s give our tomorrows over to God, one day at a time and praise Him for each day that His grace shows up (because it always will). Let’s stop trying to get God to do what we want Him to do and let God be God, and relax in the peace that comes from that.

Prayer: Dear Lord, You know how much time, energy and joy I’ve wasted in worrying about my tomorrows. With Your help, I choose to cast down those imaginations which just make my fears seem even bigger. Instead I choose to view them through the truth that Your grace is sufficient for me and will never fail. Today and every day from now on I choose to trust You for my tomorrows, knowing You’ve never failed me, and never will. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.