God is Doing Something in Your Present

Matthew 6 highlights several things that we are not to worry about. We should not worry about our lives, what we will eat or drink, or about our bodies and what we will wear. But then, at the end of Chapter 6, Matthew mentions that we should not worry about tomorrow.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” - Matthew 6:34

Matthew tells us that we should not worry about anything ahead of us. Isaiah also tells us that we should not dwell on the past.

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.” - Isaiah 43:18

Our focus should be on the present - the here and now. When we focus on the future, we are apt to become impatient and rush through life without taking time to embrace what God is doing in the present. On the other hand, when we dwell on the past, we are apt to get stuck - stuck in the past, comparing our present situation to the “good ole times.”

Isaiah goes on to say in verse 19:

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

When we focus on the future or the past too much, we are likely unable to perceive when God is trying to do something in our present lives. The enemy will highlight the negative aspects of our present situation and lead our attention away from what God is doing. But in the midst of our wilderness in this present life, God is making a way - “rivers in the desert.”