Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: “I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today, I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today and I’m going to be happy in it.
~ Groucho Marx
Of course, Groucho Marx was a famous comedian in the mid 1900's. Although he came across as a smart-alec womanizer, he was actually a very thoughtful philosopher. He makes a great point here and references Isaiah 25:9 which states "And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this [is] our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this [is] the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation." We sing the chorus, "This is the day that the Lord has made; we shall rejoice and be glad in it". We really want to fight against living in today. Either we want to dwell on the hurts and pains and rejections (or live in the glory of past victories and triumphs and successes) or we want to fret and worry (or sugar-coat our prospects and indulge in wishful thinking) about the future. Jesus had a lot to say about past, present, and future and I want to take a deeper look at each of these. The bottom line is to get free of the past mistakes and to not fret about the future, but to take each day as a gift from the Lord and to be glad in it. Keep a lookout and I will talk to you soon.
Elder Ed
2 comments:
well said. I find I have to work on this every day. I can never take God's grace for granted. It's living and active, and I have to pursue it, and apply it. It doesn't stay put because I was too lazy to pursue today.
I believe in an attempt to get some "control" over our lives, we regularly review our pasts and use them to justify our present failings(and successes) and then imagine our futures based on these things. Spending most of our time thinking (regretting, reliving, what-if's)about the past or imagining our futures based on the mistakes of our past or present lives, living in fear of the future. Pretty scary! Instead, we need to "live one day at a time, enjoy one moment at a time"(from the Serenity Prayer)in the present with Jesus.
God is in control. Just like the songs says! He has forgiven us our past mistakes and He is in control of our futures if we allow Him to be. Most of my past mistakes we're made because I didn't consult Him or obey Him and His awesome directions for my life, the Bible. In all fairness to myself I wasn't told about Jesus in my 20's when I really needed Him the most. I may have been hard to reach, maybe even impossible but I'll never know cause no one tried. I did learn that I'm to try and reach the unreachable, touch the untouchable, they deserve a chance!
So, we're not to dwell in the past but we should learn from it. I've chosen not to stay in that vicious circle of looking back at the past, imagining the future, and therefore scraping by in the present. I'm not doing the same thing and expecting different results! It required a paradigm shift, a shift in my thinking. It's been a process, habits are hard to break.(2Cor10:5) I've let go of control and chosen to place my future, my life into His hands. He is my Mighty Counselor, His word is a lamp unto my feet and I am living an amazing life!(Jos 1:8)
Post a Comment