"The tests show that your bypasses may be failing."

These are not the words one looks forward to hearing from his doctor. The thought of returning to bypass surgery and recuperation are not high on the list of things to do. This is a good time to try following Jesus admonition:

So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34).

Unfortunately most of us do not do that as well as we would like. However, the Lord's words would really serve us well if we would just follow them.

My thoughts, however, immediately jumped to the "what ifs." What if the heart cath showed the need for further procedures? Then the next step would be to determine if a stent would suffice or if additional bypasses would be necessary. Stenting is of no concern to me, but another surgery weighed heavily on my thoughts. I shared with my physician that I would likely not go that far regardless of the findings.

All of these "thoughts for tomorrow" and beyond took their toll on my nerves. What a "disappointment" when, after the heart cath, the doctor said, "I do not find any real problem. You are in good shape." All of that concern had been wasted!

How many times have you allowed tomorrow to erode the strength of today?

"But what if your concerns had been right," you ask?

Let's think about that. Would have any of the stress I had when worrying changed the outcome? Of course not! But we are human, and good advice seldom takes precedent over our perception of reality.

So many times our failure to really put our concerns in the hands of God interferes with our peace of mind. I am not saying that we make no decisions about how we will respond to possible circumstances. However, I am suggesting that we not allow those thoughts to escalate into a stress producing avalanche of "what ifs."

God's hands are infinitely better!
The precise meaning of Jesus admonition to "not worry about tomorrow" has always produced various interpretations. They range from those who refuse to make any plans at all for anything to those who must cover every possible circumstance in their deliberations.

I think the statement may be understood through other scriptural insight. For instance, Jesus uses planning for the future in an illustration when he says the following:

For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? (Luke 14:28)

This helps us realize that Jesus' comments about worry do not mean that we should refuse to think about the future, but rather that we are to not be anxious about the future. The Scriptures are filled with warnings about the futility of anxiety. God's good hands are infinitely better than "Allstate"! His "insurance" (read assurance) will take care of our future problems far better than any amount of worry!