Matthew 6:34 (RSV) 34“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.
Anxiety is another word for fear. Worry is the fear of an unpleasant outcome. When we work under a deadline and others expect us to meet a certain standards then we may fear their disapproval should we fail to meet their expectations of us. Consider all the expectations others hold for you today. We must start with our own expectations for ourselves. These self imposed strictures can be the least reasonable. Then consider the expectation of those who pay our wages or our families, spouses, professors, customers, our clients, our patients, or the “public.” The expectation of any two sources of these may conflict. We are then bound to let one of them down. In such a case, we pick the softest target, which is the one who will be least likely to retaliate.
Maybe we should take Jesus at his word and simply worry about only that which we can tend to today? Maybe not to worry at all, but simply to accept the “cares of the day” and cast all those cares on God, who “careth for us.” Whatever we do it ought to be done in a manner that pleases God. I find there are two kinds of stressors; there are the things we have control over and the things we don’t. We can control what we do; we can’t control what others think about what we do. If others are pleased with our performance, that is great. If they aren’t then there is not much we do about that. Naturally, we can try to improve but what we consider an improvement may still dissatisfy some.
First, lets make sure we please God today, all the while giving our anxiety over to the only Father who loves us just as we are.
It is distrust of God to be troubled about what is to come; impatience against God to be troubled with what is present; and anger at God to be troubled for what is past.
Simon Patrick (1625–1707)
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