Today is the Day
Psalm 118:24 (NKJV) says:
This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Now. Today. What a wonderful time. What an under-appreciated time. Right now is all we have to work with. We cannot go back and redo yesterday and we cannot jump ahead into tomorrow. We are to concern ourselves only with the here and now- and we are to enjoy the here and now while it is here.
The scriptures do not say to live in the past.
Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Isaiah 43:18 (NKJV)
In Philippians 3:13, Paul said he chose to forget the past in order to press on to what God had for him.
II Corinthians 6:2 says that today is the day of salvation.
Regret lives in the past. Worry lives in the future. Faith lives in the now.
Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) says:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith is now. A successful Christian life is lived in the present. We cannot mourn the past. We can learn from past mistakes, but we are not to relive them over and over. Of course, we can recall the times in the past when we experienced victory through God's goodness. However, we are to use the memory of past victories to encourage our faith for our current situation; we are not to dwell there.
And we cannot live in tomorrow. We must live in today, enjoying where we are now, and following the leading of the Holy Spirit to make good decisions right now. And if we follow the Lord now, then our good decisions today will automatically impact our tomorrows.
Jesus was pretty clear when He talked about worrying about the future.
"Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:31-34 (NKJV)
There it is- plain as day. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW. And He went on to say, tomorrow will worry about its own things, or in other words, tomorrow will take care of itself. Today's circumstances will give you plenty to occupy your time.
Life seems overwhelming when we try to live it all at once. We cannot live today while rehearsing yesterday and trying to anticipate every scenario of tomorrow. Focus on the here and now. Enjoy today. Make sound decisions today. Love your life and those around you today. Do what God has instructed today. Live in the now. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow will come soon enough. Today is the day you have been given- rejoice and be glad in the here and now.
