“Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34 CSB
Today is my dear friend Leslie’s birthday. We met 20 years ago through our work. I worked for Nautica, she worked for Polo. It was in Chesapeake Square Mall, which now no longer exists, Dillard’s to be exact. She came over and introduced herself to me. I was new on the job, I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to talk to the competition. No lie. Turns out I was and she became one of my best friends. She’s battling breast cancer, prayers appreciated.
Leslie has listened to me worry a lot in the last 20 years. When I was consumed with worry about something, she always says to me, “Don’t borrow trouble.” It’s only recently I’ve begun to understand the truth in that statement. I realize now, I would be so consumed worrying about something out of my control, I wasn’t enjoying the current moment. It’s difficult to not worry about tomorrow, it’s difficult not to borrow trouble. It’s a fine balance between enjoying today and worrying about the future.
As I was looking through my notes, I found this quote, “Thoughts are parents to your deeds.” I have no idea where it came from, or who said it. But I think it can help us stay in the moment and not worry about tomorrow. We have a choice what we focus our thoughts on each day. It’s up to us to determine what we are going to let control them. We can let worry consume us or we can intentionally focus our thoughts in the moment we are living. What Leslie was saying to me when she said, “Don’t borrow trouble” was control what you are thinking about. Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians puts it this way, “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5b NIV).
Paul takes it a step further in his letter to the Philippians:
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Phil. 4:8 NIV).
Paul’s telling us, whatever moment it is, look for the good. Look for the true, the noble, the right, whatever it is, look for the praiseworthy. There will be moments in life that will be much harder than others to do this. But if we do, we will start to take our thoughts captive, we’ll be focusing on the moment, we’ll be finding God. Don’t borrow trouble, look for the good.
