Here’s a fact we all have to come to terms with: There’s a certain amount of trouble in life, and we all get a share. It’s not a matter of God singling us out; it’s a part of being human. “In the world you will have trouble,” said Jesus.
Now it’s true that there are some things that we can do and should do to prevent trouble, to ward off trouble, to learn the things that trouble can teach us so as to avoid it in the future. When you stumble into a pot hole, you fill it up so you won't stumble into it again. Yet despite all our efforts, there is no wisdom or knowledge or science or religious ritual or government agency that can eliminate trouble from our lives.
I read of a study that was conducted by government researchers to determine how to reduce stairway accidents. The researchers found that 90% of all stairway accidents occur on the top and bottom steps. Here’s the solution they proposed: eliminate the top and
bottom steps.
Despite all we do prevent trouble, it’s still going to be with us. We can never entirely prevent it or control it or predict the time of its arrival. But here’s what we can do: we can prepare ourselves to respond to it in the most productive possible way.
Jesus gives us an important resource for such a healthy response: “Let a day’s own trouble,” he counsels, “be sufficient for the day.”
Do you know what most frequently interferes with our ability to deal successfully with the troubles that come our way? Worry.
Here’s how it goes: Along comes this trouble - big and ugly. Immediately, in kind of a self-protective response, we start projecting ramifications and imagining outcomes. We think, all at once, of how we’re going to meet all those contingencies, most of which haven’t even happened yet. Then we start feeling overwhelmed and panicky.
“Let a day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day,” says Jesus.
Think of a problem that you are facing right now: A health problem or financial problem or relationship problem. Every time this problem comes to mind and you start to worry on it, start to project it effects and ramifications into the future, try applying this question to it, “What part of this problem can I reasonably deal with today. Break off a day-size piece of the problem and deal with that much, no more. Entrust the rest to God. Then, when you’re finished with today’s piece, break off another piece tomorrow, and so on. You’ll see how many of your problems and worries dissolve as the days unfold.
Yours for the Adventure!
Pastor Jim Blades