Matthew 6:34

Posted by DJL on Feb 20, 2014 in Daily Bread | 1 comment

“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

I can see no way to enter into the blessing our Lord commands in this verse except through acquiring a different imagination.

First: I do see the command here as blessing. Can you imagine, for a moment, what it would be like to surrender all our usual worries about the future and just live – fully and deeply – in the present?

Second: it’s the very fact that I have such difficulty imagining this for more than a moment or two that suggests I need to develop a more robust, more biblical, and more faithful imagination.

And if there’s anything I’ve learned about imagination it’s this: We can train and expand our imagination, but the only way to do so if through practice.

So here’s how I plan on practicing: At those times when I feel most oppressed by my worries – realistic or fanciful, near term or longer – I will pray this prayer – “Lord God, you have given me this present moment in which to live. Whether joyous, challenging, heartbreaking, or delightful, there is no other time available to me than this one. Help me embrace it, trusting to you the future that I may live with confidence, hope, and abandon in the present.”

Not much, I know. But something. And I’m both curious and hopeful to see if through this simple practice I can retrain my imagination, look for the good in the present moment, and develop greater trust in the God who not only created all that is but also came to be among us as one of us in Jesus the Christ, living our life, dying our death, all that we might live in the here and now with equal measures of courage and joy.

Prayer: Dear God, God, you have given us this present moment in which to live. Whether joyous, challenging, heartbreaking, or delightful, there is no other time available to us than this one. Help us embrace it, trusting to you the future that we may live with confidence, hope, and abandon in the present. In Jesus’ name, Amen.