Don’t Compound Your Problems

 

By Andrea Merrell

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:34 NIV

There I was, doing it again—rehearsing all the worst-case scenarios that could happen in a situation that lay ahead. All the maybes and what-ifs. I analyzed them from every conceivable angle and tried to come up with a plan.

As if …

As if I could fix it. As if I were in charge. As if I could control the future. As much as I dreaded what I had to face, I only compounded my problem by rehearsing it over and over in my mind. I experienced it numerous times instead of only once.

Matthew tells us not to worry about tomorrow. The Message translation puts it like this:

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

When we worry, we lose our peace and our joy. It destroys our well-being. When we focus on the problem instead of the problem-solver, we forget that only He knows what truly lies ahead. Nothing catches Him by surprise. And the best part is He promises to be with us. To help us. To sustain us. To give us wisdom and direction. We never have to face anything alone.

In reality, the anticipation of something is many times much worse than the actual situation when it comes. I’ve experienced this time and again.

If you’re facing a major problem, don’t dwell on it. Don’t worry about. And don’t try to fix it before it even happens. Give it to the Lord, and trust Him to see you through it. You won’t be disappointed.

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com and Molnar Balint.