A Face Book friend, who lives in Sri Lanka, posted this recently and I want to share it with you. “There are only two days during the year when nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow. So today is the time to love, believe, do and to live.” This is something I need to put on my refrigerator door to read every morning as I prepare breakfast and as I ask God’s blessing on my food, I need to ask Him to show me what must or should be done today. Focusing on today frees us from regrets from the past and worries about the future. Jesus teaches us, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:34)
Today is the time to display to the world around us the fruit of God’s Spirit within us: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) Today is always the right time to let God’s light shine through us to those still living in darkness.
Today might be decision time. The most important today in my life was the one when I put my faith in Christ and accepted His mercy and grace. The Israelites had a today of decision as they prepared to enter the Promised Land. “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster.” (Deuteronomy 30:15) That decision was to worship and serve the living God of creation or the false gods they would encounter in the land they were entering. Sounds like a decision we must make in the culture of today doesn’t it? Not every decision we make will be that important, but our spiritual decisions will be.
Today might be a day of preparation. How is it possible to plan for the future without worry or fear? It is because as Christians we have the advantage of having the Holy Spirit to guide our daily actions. He can actually see the future and warn us to prepare today without worry or fear of what is coming. I have another friend who lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They received warning last week from the weather service that they were in the direct path of a hurricane in the Gulf. The day they received the warning was a day of calm preparation. They were able to face the storm with confidence when it arrived. We can weather the storms of life if we pay attention to the warning of the Holy Spirit and calmly prepare today for them.
Let us live today as though it is our last one here on Earth; for someday it will be.