Tomorrow is a word we use almost every day. It can bring hope or dread, depending on what we are planning for tomorrow. I have been many times, on both ends of the spectrum. When we are in anticipation of good things, tomorrow seems to take so long to get here, but when tomorrow is bringing unpleasant things it seems to approach rapidly and never leave.
The Bible is clear as to how we are to approach tomorrow. In James 4:13-15, they were so into the planning of tomorrow, that they failed to do all they could today. Much of the time we are the same way. We put off until tomorrow what we should be taking care of today. Sometimes it is because we don’t want to tackle a bad habit, or sometimes we fool ourselves into believing it will go away or become easier tomorrow. James teaches us that this is the wrong approach to tackling a problem. If there is something in your life that needs to change, the present is where you start. Tomorrow will bring its’ own set of challenges and problems. As a believer, we understand that we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. James says our life is like a vapor that appears for a little while, and then it vanishes away. We are to trust God as the foundation for our lives and take care of situations as they come.
James 4:13-15 “Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeared for a little time, and then vanished away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”
Then, there are those who dread tomorrow. Some people are very anxious about tomorrow. They worry and fret about what can happen. Some are so caught up in the “what if’s” that ruin today. Their fear controls them because they have a lack of faith. Faith and fear are opposites. Placing our total trust in God will cause fear to go away. We know that God is in control and whatever He allows will ultimately be what is best for us. In Romans 8:28-29, we understand that God is working in, and through us for what is best for us. We may not like it, but in time, if we trust, it will be for our benefit. He is trying to mold us into the image of His son Jesus. Many think everything that happens to us, that we don’t like, is from the devil, but it could be God trying to mold us and we are being resistant. So much of the time we are so caught up in trying to be comfortable in our situations that we miss the big picture of what God is trying to teach us. We allow fear and anxiety to control us instead of God.
Romans 8:28-29 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
Tomorrow may not come for any of us. Death or Jesus’ return could come. We don’t know the future, but God does, in fact, Isaiah 46:10 says He has declared the end from the beginning.
Isaiah 46:10 “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”
Today is the day to work for Him and to live as if there were no tomorrow. This doesn’t mean we throw our hands up and follow the motto eat, drink, and be merry. But, if we live doing all He has commanded, working, witnessing, edifying, admonishing, and exhorting, He will take care of us.
Mathew 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.”
