Psalm 118:24 says “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” If only we could understand exactly what this verse is telling us. This is the day which the Lord has made. It doesn’t matter what this day holds, it is still God’s day, and He is using it for our good (even if the day is not good from our point of view). Every day can be a good day if we just look at it as God’s day, and not ours. The Bible tells us to forget yesterday and to not even think about it. It is gone. It is past. It no longer matters. Learn from the past, but don’t dwell on it. God also doesn’t want us to worry about tomorrow, because we aren’t even promised tomorrow. He wants us to stop and live today. Not just wish that it would be Friday or Summer vacation or Christmas… He wants us to take time and slow down long enough to realize that this is His day. Today is like a clean white sheet of paper. It is up to us what we want to put on it. So as we think about moving into 2017, and we begin this road of 50 days to blessing, I pray that you ask God to help you focus on the present. To realize completely what it means to rejoice in the today; for this is the day God has made. Finally, I would like to share a quote I recently read. I thought it was something to think about as we move into a new year: “All negativity is caused by an accumulation of psychological time and denial of the present. Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry- all forms of fear-are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of non-forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.” In other words, it is vital to our happiness to live in the present day. And in order to live the life God is calling us to live, which brings us blessings, we have to be centered on the present. My hope is that you will enter 2017 fully embracing each day God gives you.
Be Blessed,
Jessica
Jesus help us focus on the present! So important and so easy to not do. With the passing of my Father-in-law makes this so true to embrace those we have while they are still with us.
What a profound message, Jessica! I love the quote.
And THORA, so sorry for your loss. Our hearts break with yours.
I have found myself saying this a lot recently and I believe it to be so important, your words- look at it as God’s day, and not ours – so that our “present” is not “right now”, which is prevalent in today’s younger generation.