Live for Today IN Today (and Trust God for the Rest)
Introduction Life is a river, flowing inexorably forward. Moments rush past and days blend into one another, and another year passes. There's a profound wisdom in the way God structured our existence—dividing our lives into days, hours, and seco…
Life is a river, flowing inexorably forward. Moments rush past and days blend into one another, and another year passes.
There's a profound wisdom in the way God structured our existence—dividing our lives into days, hours, and seconds. He is unbound by time, but He knows well that we, His creations, need such divisions not just for organization, but for sanity.
We simply couldn't handle it if everything happened to us all at once. Sometimes we have trouble coping with one flat tire on a rainy day or one trip to the dentist or one crappy day at work. Imagine if all of those things over the course of our lifetimes occurred at the same time!
And so it was within this framework that Jesus offers a crucial command that speaks directly to the core of human anxiety:
This directive isn't just practical advice; it's a divine strategy for living fully and faithfully.
The Tyranny of Worry
Worrying about the past or the future not only distracts us but also diminishes the richness of the present moment. Since life is like a river, it flows onward, only ever forward—each moment unique, each second unrepeatable.
The laughter of a child, the warmth of a sunbeam, a blooming flower, the comfort of a shared silence with a good friend—these are the moments of beauty and connection that worry can steal from us if we let it dominate our thoughts.
The Illusion of Control
There's a deeper issue at play when we succumb to worry about times beyond today: a subtle form of unbelief. By fretting over the future or lamenting the past, we are essentially saying to God, "I don't trust You with this." It's as if we believe that by worrying, we might alter outcomes or reclaim lost opportunities.
This mindset not only reveals a misunderstanding of our own limitations but also a doubt in God's sovereign care. Trying to control what is God's alone to manage is not just futile; it's spiritually perilous.
I have a dear friend who has a strong personal relationship with Jesus. I know he believes that God loves him and cares deeply for him. And yet, he grapples with excessive worry frequently. He tells me that he has trouble getting out of his own head. I'll bet it would horrify him to think that every time he worries about something, he's telling God, "I don't trust You with this." He would never intentionally say those words to God. But in a way he is.
I certainly don't blame him—or any of us, since I think we all have a propensity to do this—for doing this. It's our natural human tendency. I'll bet we could all complete the sentence, "If you want something done right, you need to..." (do it yourself).
But as with so many things in the journey of following Christ, He calls us to rise above our natural human tendency and try our best to live the way He lived. He models the right way to deal with worry when He is deeply troubled about His impending crucifixion (to be fair, He had good reason to be deeply troubled). He prays a desperate yet simple prayer:
In other words, He knew the situation was in the hands of God the Father, and as much as He wanted to grab hold of the crisis and try to change it, He affirmed to God (and reminded Himself) that He trusts God the Father.
For us, the prayer could be as simple as, "God, please forgive me for trying to live in the past (or future). Help me to remember that I can only live in the right now. I trust You, but help me to keep remembering that."
Let Go, Let God
To live fully within the boundaries of today is to practice a radical trust in God. It means acknowledging that while we can prepare, we cannot control; we can reflect, but we cannot change what has passed. Each day, God invites us to experience life's breadth deeply—its joys and its trials—without the added weight of yesterday's regrets or tomorrow's anxieties.
This perspective isn't born from naive optimism but from a robust faith that understands God's omnipotence and love. The old bumper sticker wisdom "Let Go, Let God" might seem overly simplistic, yet it captures the essence of this trust. It reminds us to surrender our illusions of control and embrace the peace that comes from faith in God's perfect oversight.
This is the path to the peace that surpasses all understanding, which the Apostle Paul wrote about in his letter to the church at Phillipi (Philippians 4:7).
Conclusion
As we journey through each day, let us strive to appreciate the present fully, engage authentically with the people around us, and face our challenges courageously—all the while trusting that God holds our past, present, and future securely in His more than capable hands.
Living for today in today isn't about disregarding the future, but about entrusting it to God, whose care for us is meticulous and loving. So today, let's focus on the present, cherish its blessings, navigate its difficulties, and leave the rest to God. After all, in doing so, we aren't just surviving; we're living as we were meant to—free from the tyranny of worry and saturated in the peace of God.
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