For Today

A few weeks ago, my wife read me this quote from H.E. Manning:

Neither go back in fear and misgiving to the past, nor in anxiety and forecasting to the future, but lie quiet under His hand, having no will but His.

We may all, to one degree or another, have a tendency to live in the past. This may consist of resting on our laurels - resting on the accomplishments we have already attained. Or it may consist of dwelling upon the mistakes we have made in the past, not allowing ourselves to move on from there. Our past does influence our present, but we do not have to allow it to prevent us from becoming the person we were created to be.

Some of us live with anxiety about the future, worrying about things that may never come to be.

We need to learn from our past and look, with hope, to our future, but our focus needs to be on the here and now. Living this day to its fullest.

As I learn to live with cancer, this is the daily challenge. I need to squelch the tendency to dwell upon the way things were before I was diagnosed, and I need to avoid anxiety about what the future holds. Today, I am alive. Today I can being with my wife and children . I can enjoy watching the birds out my window. I can praise the God who created me, redeemed me, and is now present with me.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I must learn to focus on His daily bread, His daily provision for me. God has given me everything that I need to live for Him today. Everything I need to do His will. Everything I need to grow in Christ-likeness. Everything I need to glorify Him. For today.