ONE DAY AT A TIME
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
The past few months have been some trying times that many like myself, never dreamed of being confronted with. In Philippians 4:11-13, the Apostle Paul stated “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned that whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things thorough Christ which strengthen me.”
The goodness of life is so often found when we press in and learn to be present in the places we actually find ourselves, rather than trying to artificially control our environment to ensure a certain outcome.
And so I ask you, what kind of person will you be today? Not who you were several months ago, or who you are convinced you’ll be next year, but who are you today? As a French Catholic Nun reminds us, “When we yield to discouragement it is usually because we give too much thought to the past and to the future.”
When our present situation tests and stretches us, we are tempted to idolize the past or romanticize the future. Yet the present is the only place in which we actually find ourselves or in which we are able to find God. Though Christ was with us in the past, and promises to be with us in the future, our encounter of his grace and love must take place in this present moment.
Likely, whatever your life looked like 6 months ago, it doesn’t look that way today! Similarly, who can possibly say what your life or our world will look like 6 months from now? Yet you hear these words in the present, and this very moment is a gift given to you by God and is an invitation to breathe in his life and breathe out your praise. So as Paul reminds us, whatever you do, whatever you say, wherever this day may take you, it is an opportunity for you to live as a witness to the world of the love of God in Jesus and the joy and thanksgiving that flows from a life lived with him, day by day, moment by moment. And, again, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
Prayer
Father, in spite of any fear or fatigue that we may carry with us, help us to be present to your renewing work this very day, we pray through Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Application
If you are feeling discouraged, think about where you might be spending too much time reflecting upon the past or dreaming about the future.
Related Reading
Psalm 31:7; Jonah 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; Hebrews 13:5; Philippians 4:19; Matthew 6:34
