“Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Matthew 6:34 CSB
At a Christian summer camp I went to growing up, there was often a session dedicated to discussing what it looked like to return home after the many mountain-top experiences with God. While I did have some amazing breakthroughs at camp, I often found myself frustrated upon return. The remnants of my spiritual encounters at an event weren’t sustained back in “real life.” I’ve often heard it said that people have these mountain-top moments with God at Christian events only to find themselves right back in the valley when they get home.
I remember times when God revealed a powerful truth to me and gave me so much revelation concerning a topic; and I thought, “I’ll never struggle with this ever again.” I would then find myself frustrated and anxious when I in fact did struggle again. “Something is wrong with me,” I would think. “I simply don’t have enough faith.” I would attend these summer camps, conferences, and events and hope that God would magically take away things that I was dealing with only to find myself struggling again.
Anxiety was often the thing I would want to experience freedom from. I’ve wrestled with anxiety most of my life. I’ve experienced it on a minor scale in the form of stress over tasks and assignments I needed to complete in very little time. I’ve experienced it on a major scale in the form of a panic attack and being so overwhelmed I don’t really have language for what I felt. I had moments of breakthrough where I truly believed I was finished with anxiety once and for all, only to find myself face to face with that all too familiar emotion.
I have found it to be true that what I do in the valley is just as important as the experience I had on the mountain, and what I do in the valley helps sustain the experience I have on the mountain.
“Do not worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34 tells us to be present today. A command so simple yet so often hard to do.
When faced with the all too familiar feeling of anxiety after an amazing breakthrough moment, I would question its validity and also doubt my ability to have faith. What I failed to realize is that each day is an opportunity for greater freedom. Each day presents us with the opportunity to see and experience more of Jesus. That is, in and of itself, a breakthrough.
2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” It is a promise for the believer to experience breakthrough. We often think about it happening one time and then we’re done; but God is in the business of transforming us each and every day.
When I would find myself face to face with the feeling of anxiety again, I would think I was going backwards. But God doesn’t take us backwards. Every challenge we face is an opportunity for deeper revelation and freedom. It’s an opportunity for a greater victory.
While, yes, I sometimes still struggle with anxiety, I don’t struggle like I once did. I can trust that God is a god of victory. So instead of worrying about tomorrow, I will be present today because God has a breakthrough for me. And He has one for you, too.
Prayer:
Thank you, Father, that you desire to take me from glory to glory. Help me to be present today and open my eyes to how you are transforming me. Help me to cling to your promises and to take hold of the victory that you have for me each and every day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Written by: Lera I. Ricciuti
