Just Living For Today

Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson wrote a song years ago entitled, “One Day at A Time.”  I never heard either of them sing it.  But in the church that I grew up in, there was a precious lady that I can still hear sing those words today.  The lyrics of the chorus say:

One day at a time, sweet Jesus 

That’s all I’m asking of You.  Just give me the strength to do everyday 

What I have to do.  

Yesterday’s gone, sweet Jesus, 

And tomorrow may never be mine.  

God help me today, Show me the way, One day at a time.

I was too young then to really understand the words to that song, but I sure do get it today.  

I recently prayed, “God, what are you trying to teach me in this season because I really want to learn it and move on?”  I heard the answer - not exactly what I wanted to hear.  But I got it, live for today.  

In the Message translation, Matthew 6:34 says it like this, “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.  God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

Why is it so hard to do that?  It’s the “may or may not happens” that gets me.  Anxiety and worry begin to build when I can’t see God moving fast enough to either answer, solve, or make the crisis go away.  And that is when the enemy has a field day.

But let’s take it a step further.  You may or may not be a Christian-a believer in Jesus.  However, there are certain principles that are taught in the Bible that are just good to apply to your life.  For example, sowing and reaping.  If you sow (contribute or give, buy into) good seed, then you will reap a good harvest.  Another example is tithing.   There are people-business men/women that are not Christian-faith related but understand the blessing of giving a tenth of their income/profit and the blessing that comes from applying that to their life.  

And, learning to live one day at a time – being present in the moment is also one of those life applications that I (we) would be good to apply.  Why?  Because Jesus said so!  No – not just because He said so but because Jesus showed us how to live that way.  

We don’t have the power to change tomorrow.  We can’t change outcomes or people.  We can only live today.

Recently, in a bible study that I am doing, I read about Jesus in the wilderness and tempted for 40 days.  The writer of the study said that one of the greatest temptations Jesus faced was to take matters into his own hands.  That truly resonated with me.  While Jesus was all God yet all man, and I am certainly not, it provoked me to think of the many times I dare to do just that.  I try to help God out forgetting all the while that he does not need my assistance.  

In I Peter 5:7, it says “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”

God did not create us to carry tomorrow’s burdens today.  We know that medical science has proven over and over again what worry, fear, and anxiety can do to our mental and physical wellbeing.  It robs us of our peace, and it affects our life in every aspect.  Our mind, emotions, body, and spirit cannot manage that heavy of a load.  We were not designed to carry the weight of tomorrow because it is simply too much to bear.  

But God can.  And He does.  And He will.  We just need to live today and leave the rest to Him.