Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. — Matthew 6:24 (NIV)
Ours has been called The Age of Anxiety, and some psychologists claim a major cause of stress and indeed mental illness or breakdown is an unhealthy focus on the past or future. In other words, focusing on the past and our regrets can be toxic. Likewise, fixating on the future and what might or might or might not happen can drive us crazy too. Of course we should remember and learn from the past, and plan for the future, but the only place we have any effect or influence is on today. President Harry Truman said, “If you’ve done the best you can–if you’ve done what you have to do–there’s no use worrying about it because nothing can change it.” The same way some ships have walls consisting of a series of watertight cells, likewise, we can approach each 24 hour period as a kind of “watertight” compartment. Living “one day at a time” is not carelessness or irresponsibility. It’s biblical!
S.G.D.
