Today. Live in the present.
Yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never be but you have this moment so make the most of it.
Wow, what a poem and what a truth.
“Today”
By Vivian Yeiser Laramore.
I’ve shut the door on yesterday -
Its sorrows and mistakes;
I’ve locked within its gloomy walls
Past failures and heartaches.
And now I throw the key away
To seek another room,
And furnish it with hope and smiles,
And every spring-time bloom.
No thought shall enter this abode
That has a hint of pain,
And envy, malice, and distrust
Shall never entrance gain.
I’ve shut the door on yesterday
And thrown the key away, -
Tomorrow holds no fear for me,
Since I have found today
Vivian Yeiser Laramore’s poem “Today” teaches a great Biblical truth. God wants us to live in the moment. Don’t forget that God’s name is “I AM” (Exodus 3:14), and He is always present and active in our lives right now.
Think of the great spiritual principle Jesus taught when He taught His disciples to pray, asking for only their “daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). Remember that the Israelites only got enough manna for the day, calling on them and us to trust God’s provision one day at a time.
As the poem says, we must shut the door on yesterday and throw away the key, which is exactly what Paul said when he wrote, forgetting those things that are behind and reaching out for what is ahead, pressing toward the mark (Philippians 3:13). This isn’t being in denial, but refusing to let past failures, sorrows, and mistakes define us or our present walk with God.
Pull up your anchor from where you threw it down in your last adversity. You parked in the past. You decided that the tragedy would be your identity, but that is not the Biblical way to think or live. As the poem says, furnish a new room with hopes and smiles. Know that the mercies of the Lord are new every morning. Start fresh and enjoy God’s grace. (Lamentations 3:22-23).
As the poem says, we exclude specific thoughts. We bring them into captivity to Christ. We think of true, honorable, just pure, and lovely things (Philippians 4:8). That is not being positive but choosing to focus on God, His goodness, His love for you, and living in the present.
We are not to be worried about tomorrow. We know that each day has enough trouble for itself. (Matthew 6:34). Live today. so that what the poem says rings true in your heart: “Tomorrow holds no fear for me, Since I have found today.” God is with you right now. He comes to you. He meets you in your hour of need, but the truth is that He is always there. Your Father never leaves. He has the grace you need for what you are facing right now. It’s time to pull up anchor and get the car driving again. Realize that you are the child of God. That is your identity, not what happened, the mistake, the abuse, the success, or the failure. You are not what you do, but who you are is the born-again, accepted, loved child of God. So we forget yesterday’s regrets and tomorrow’s worries and look to our Father.
Grace covers our yesterdays, tomorrows, and today. God came to us. He loved us, knowing who we were and all our failures. He loves us unconditionally. You can trust your Father’s love. He loves you more than any human can imagine because, as you know, He does not have love; HE IS LOVE. His love is like a flooding river flowing at you, over you, around you, and carrying you along to live every day, loving every person like never before.
We live in God’s eternal now. There, we have freedom from the past because we left it on the cross and in the hands of our loving Father. We trust the One who saved us and gave us everything we have with tomorrow. Knowing God is trusting God. Understanding God loves you enough to die for you helps you love Him and trust Him to take care of you today and tomorrow. He will work everything out for our good. He will never leave you to fend for yourself. So enjoy the abundant life He gives.