I’ve been thinking about the future. As I shared in the last post, there is great change coming. In my experience, change has not always been pleasant. Change brings the good and the bad in life. Change requires decision and action. Change means facing ourselves in a new way and seeing the truth. Change makes us vulnerable. Change is best accomplished while trusting God!
As I face change, I’m reminded that I only have today. As I sit with the Holy Spirit of God, I can prioritize and strategize for the long-haul, but I only have today. What I am able to see in my tomorrow is what I walk toward today. What are my actions today doing to create my tomorrow?
Suppose I want cereal for breakfast on Monday. I look in my pantry and see boxes filled with pasta, but no boxes containing cereal. I have the choice to eat something else for breakfast or run to the store to get the cereal. Say I decide to have something else for breakfast that morning. I adjusted my wish for today, but what about my future wish for breakfast cereal? If I don’t stop at the store to get the cereal today, I will have the same problem tomorrow morning. What I do today affects my tomorrow.
What if I dislike grocery shopping? I make an excuse every day for the next five days to avoid the grocery store that will provide me with the cereal that I want for breakfast? At the end of that week I look in the pantry for the cereal that isn’t there. I kick the pantry door. I stomp my feet and pout. I look for something else for breakfast, but I’ve eaten everything else available in the refrigerator. Now I have another problem. Not only do I have to go to the store, but I have to go to the store on a SATURDAY! Now, I could decide to “eat out” for the rest of my life, but that gets expensive. I could eat out just today, but the day of the week hasn’t changed; it is still Saturday, a day when many people enjoy the company of family and friends at local restaurants. I may have to wait in line, just like at the grocery store. Fast food is an option, but many of those restaurants don’t have the cereal that I like. WHAT WILL I DO?
The point is, we make choices every day that either complicate our life or make it simpler. Which way do we want to live? What we do today either simplifies or complicates our tomorrow! It’s the small decisions that have the greatest impact on us. These moment-by-moment decisions to make the right choices will bring us the stability and peace we want or the insecurity and chaos that we dread.
As I face these changes in life, I am aware that God is walking with me today, reminding me of what is important and what is not. He sees the bigger picture and gives glimpses along the way. I must take stock of the choices made and the results they bring. I must take responsibility for my part in them, good or bad, and make the needed changes. I must ask forgiveness when necessary and keep some forgiveness for myself. I must understand that choice, as well as change, are God-given. He will direct and bless as I listen and obey Him. He will forgive and help clean up the mess if I don’t. The choice is mine. It occurs only today, only this moment.
So, what about you? You only have today. What choices will you make today that will change your tomorrow? Whatever those choices, let God be a part of them. He made you and He knows you better than you know yourself. Let Him help you create the today that will bring the blessings you always wanted for your tomorrow.
Just like Israel, He calls to you, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” (Jeremiah 29:11) He loves you. Let Him help you… today.