Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best—
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He whose name is Counselor and Power;
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then, in every tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

Written by Karolina Sandell-Berg, 1865
Music by Oskar Ahnfelt, 1872

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Matthew 6:33 – 34

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.
Psalm 68:19

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
2 Corinthians 4:16 – 17

I have had those moments when I wake up in the middle of the night, and it seems my mind kicks into overdrive. I begin thinking about all the things I have to do. I begin to think how am I going to get all of these things done. And I know I am not alone.

It seems all of us find ourselves caught up in worrying about what is to come. Whether it is everything we have to do, how we are going to make ends meet, or concern about friends and family. In each of these the worry about the problems seem to begin to dominate our lives. But the worry gets us no where.

Jesus told us in Matthew 6:34, to “not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Now I am certainly not one to start spouting platitudes like, “let go, let God.” Honestly, these drive me up a wall.  I remember, a few years ago, when I was laid off that this is the kind of thing I would hear from people.  Now, their intentions were good enough but frankly, it was the last thing I wanted to hear.

In my mind I knew that God was there and would take care of me, but I certain did not want people who appeared to have it all together telling me how things weren’t so bad.  

But, after some serious prayer and thought I came to a realization.  What I found was that it was not a case of letting go of the problem, it’s a case of holding onto God. I learned that first and foremost, it was a matter of turning things over to God. You see, It was placing my trust in God first that allowed me to move beyond the stress and anxiety of my situation. When I moved beyond this, it was then that I learned to let go. This is the message of “Day by Day.”

The fact is that we will face worry and stress. We will face troubles that will come our way. But God is there for us. He knows what we need and waits only for us to turn to Him, that we might find the peace that is only available through Him.

So I find truth and solace in the words of Karolina  Sandell-Berg when she writes, “Every day, the Lord Himself is near me with a special mercy for each hour.”

Read more about “Day by Day.”