Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Life
comprises a series of yesterdays, todays and tomorrows. Those who live these
days meaningfully are those who fear the Lord and keep His commandments, realizing
that their lives are entirely in His hands. What should our attitude towards
yesterday, today and tomorrow be in order to receive God’s blessing?
Let Us Give Thanks for
Yesterday
All that
we have, life, family and livelihood, come from God.
And the world, with all its beauty, is His free gift to us. But most precious
of all, the Lord gave up Himself for us. Willingly he died on agonizing death
to redeem us. Through Him, we have the hope of salvation. Therefore, let us
learn from King David and give thanks to Him.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all
his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who
heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you
with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Ps 103:2-5)
Just as
the Lord blessed the leper who returned to thank Him, so will He bless us. And not only that, our heart felt gratitude will act as
a constant reminder of the divine providence and motivate us to serve Him all
the more.
Let Us Dedicate Today to
His Service
Time is
life, and while we may, we must make good use of it, to seek spiritual
advancement and to propagate the Lord’s holy work. It is said that the way a
person organizes his day is indicative of how he will spend his life. The Bible
also says, “…and as your days, so shall your strength be.” (Deut 33:25)
Many
people toil and labour in order to better their standard of living, but is the end result worth the effort? Jesus said, “For what
will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or
what shall a man give in return for his life?” What we must pursue, then, is
eternal life, the true life. Jesus Christ is the way to this life. The Apostle
Paul recognized this fact and declared, “For to me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain.” Throughout his ministerial service, he was true to
this affirmation. He lived each day to its fullest by cultivating his
spirituality and following God’s word. In return, the spiritual food he
received from the Lord refreshed him and enabled him to convert many lost souls
through his preaching and his miracles. Paul had offered every moment of his
life to God, and God delighted in his dedication. When he was near the end of his
life, he was able to utter these inspiring words: “I have fought the good
fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the
faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness…” (2 Tim
4:7-8)
Let Us Entrust Our
Tomorrows to God
We often make
extensive plans for the future and hold high hopes for what is to come,
neglecting to entrust it all to God. In fact we do not even know what will come
to pass tomorrow. Only our heavenly Father can control our destiny. So, as the
Apostle James instructed, we should say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and
we shall do this and that.” Since tomorrow lies in God’s hands, we need to
understand His will. The Lord Himself has promised to be our counselor (Is
9:6), and we need only to trust in Him through prayers and manifest an active
faith in our daily living.
While we
entrust our future to God, we must also remain spiritually alert, living as we
are in the lost days. As in the parable of the ten virgins, we must emulate the
five wise maidens who are always prepared to meet the Groom, the Lord Jesus
Christ. This is because the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the
night. We must be sanctified through prayers and meditation on His words.
If we look
back on yesterday with thankfulness, dedicate ourselves to the Lord today, and
at the same lime, entrust our tomorrows to Him, we can be assured that He will
always be with us on our journey to the heavenly Kingdom. He will protect,
encourage and strengthen us, until we reach our goal.
