“One day at a time–this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering.”
It takes trust to live without worry for tomorrow. It takes the touch of a Master Physician to put balm on the wounds of yesterday. It takes courage to let go of all these things to really realize that all that He asks of us is to live today. He isn’t concerned about us understanding what is hidden behind the unknown of tomorrow any more than He wants us to be so broken by yesterday that we fail to learn to live today in a way that will truly make it beautiful and worth remembering. He wants us to trust Him to know the end from the beginning, to accept not only joy but sorrow as from a Father’s hand.
But God wants something more from us than just acceptance of the changes in our plans that He allows. He wants us to accept with joy. He wants us to be able to kneel down and build an altar, so to speak, and to lay our will as an offering on that altar, and to get up and go on, not just in submission, but with joy to be living the life that He has chosen for us.
God wants us to be happy. He wants His joy to well up in our hearts and spill out because there is not room to contain it. He wants us to choose this, even when nothing seems to match up with the kind of happiness we wanted. Sometimes we have to choose to find those beautiful things, choose to look at the bright side, choose to be happy even when there seems to be nothing to beautiful, nothing bright, and nothing happy.
“Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day.” ~Author Unknown
Tomorrow will be here sooner than you think, there’s no fear for that, and we cannot change yesterday no matter how many tears we cry. God has given us today. In this day He has woven a multitude of little blessings, little pieces of joy worth collecting. It is up to us to find them, and it isn’t any easier at first than it is to find that thimble in a field, yet as we train our minds and hearts to be receptive to the littlest of blessings, we find that we live in a world that is still a beautiful place, filled with evidences great and small of Someone who loves us.
If we make it our habit to find something beautiful in every day, our hearts learn a new language and our trust in Him to provide grows stronger, but even nature knows that one cannot receive unless they also give. So it is with us.
There are souls in this world which have the gift of finding joy everywhere and of leaving it behind them when they go. ~Frederick Faber
And that, by God’s grace, is what I want to be. Today.
10 Comments
Yes, Chantel, God knew I needed this word of encouragement, lately, I have been to discouraged over past mistakes that I can’t change instead of trusting and thanking God for the here and now. I need to be making a past worth remembering.
Beautiful reminder.
God’s really been speaking to me lately, reminding me to live one day at a time. I can’t surrender my entire life to Him in one dramatic moment. My surrender must be daily… moment by moment.
Thank you, Chantel.
This post is beautiful and so edifying. Thank you for sharing and submitting yourself to Gods Spirit because you’ve really encouraged me today…I’m going to print this so I can re read it! God bless you xxx
What a beautiful word of encouragement!
His gifts to us are immeasurable, and great indeed. I have been blogging about my journey in His grace and beauty… though life never goes as planned, one can ALWAYS find His goodness. Thank you for this reminder!
~Joanna
Chantel, I am learning to live this out these days– how neat to see you put into words what’s been in my mind and on my heart. When I can’t see what is ahead and I don’t understand some of the pain and confusion in the recent past, I am living one day at a time and aiming to please the Lord day by day. Looking for the beauty, the joy, the grace– moment by moment.
I needed to here this. Thank you so much for this encouraging post!
Thank you so much for that heartfelt post. It was such an encouragement and blessing to my heart, and I really needed to hear that today! God bless!
joy. I, too, desire to leave it behind, wherever I go.
Thanks for this post. It is encouraging for me today as so easily I look back on the past with regret and future with fear and uncertainty. ‘Because He lives, I can face tomorrow’.