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There are moments in life when we become discouraged because we feel
overwhelmed with the trials and challenges of life. Instead of giving all
of our worries to the Lord and allowing His perfect peace to overtake our
being, we instead wallow in self-pity and self-doubt. What we must quickly
realize is that God is in control of all things at all times in all places.
The Lord knows what will happen every second of every day of our lives and
it is for this reason that we should have our supreme confidence in His
ability to meet our every need and deliver us from every trial that has
tried to keep us bound. (Isaiah 26:3) (Psalm 138:6-8)
Instead of worrying about next week or next month, I challenge you to rest
in today. Enjoy today to the best of your ability and look forward to
tomorrow with a refreshed outlook knowing that God is already there. No
surprise can come your way, no challenge can overtake you and no
circumstance can steal your joy without your permission. When you choose
to believe God you are declaring by faith that nothing can come your way
that will make you worry or fear what tomorrow holds. You know this
because the One who holds you also holds everything else at the same time.
(Proverbs 3:24-26) (Matthew 6:25-34)
Be encouraged to live one day at a time and when that day comes to an end,
give thanks to God for the blessings of that day and for the provision of
the day to come. Live each day to the fullest without giving thought for
tomorrow because by faith we know that God will be there to lead us just
as He had the day before. The Lord will be faithful to meet our every need
and comfort us in our every trial. Let us remember God's faithfulness in
times past so that we can be reassured that He will be with us now and in
the future to come. I encourage you again to never worry and never doubt.
Stay faithful to the Lord because He promises to never leave you nor
forsake you. (Psalm 118:24) (Hebrews 13:5)
I hope this message inspires and challenges your heart to take life one day
at a time and allow the Lord's sustenance and provision to keep you at
peace no matter what may come your way.
ONE DAY AT A TIME...FOREVER
The exact words of the orthodontist, preparing me for radiation treatments
in the wake of my oral cancer surgery, were: “I want you to repeat this
process each night for the rest of your life.”
He had just outlined the nightly routine I was to follow: squeeze fluoride
from a tube into the soft plastic molds he made of my teeth, place over my
lower teeth for 10 minutes, then the upper for 10 minutes, and go 30
minutes without rinsing, eating, or drinking. The steps are not difficult
and certainly not stressful. But every day for the rest of my life on
planet Earth? What a sobering thought.
At first, it felt as if I had been sentenced to a lifetime in a prison
cell. It felt confining, burdensome, depressing. Then I began to put it
into perspective.
The fact is I am doing plenty of things I expect to repeat each day for
the rest of my life. There are the obvious ones like breathing, eating,
sleeping, waking, and talking. But there is a long list of activities I
have chosen to do on a daily basis and expect to repeat all the way home.
These include brushing my teeth, bathing, reading my Bible, praying,
taking my medicine, and getting some form of exercise. I expect to love my
wife and family and work at obeying my Lord every day as long as I live.
In no way do I find these restrictive or onerous. They are simply on-going
payments I make as investments in the quality of life I have chosen.
My brother Ron is five years older than me, which makes him pushing 70,
but don't tell him; he thinks he's still a teenager. While in his late
twenties, Ron was diagnosed with diabetes. A pastor of Baptist churches in
central Alabama for four decades, he has given himself two insulin shots a
day ever since. Every day. For the rest of his life.
Milt Gabrielse was a businessman and lay minister of music in Missouri
churches, and the father of Dr. Ken Gabrielse, chairman of the church
music department of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Milt was
one of the happiest, most joyful persons I ever met. Over the last decade
of his life, he had serious heart problems which necessitated life
threatening surgeries on several occasions. All the medications he took
for his heart finally destroyed his kidneys. During the final year of his
life, he lived with a transplanted heart valve and a pacemaker, took lots
and lots of medicine, and spent the night--every night--from 9 pm to 6 am
hooked up to a dialysis machine. According to his wife Donna, every
morning as soon as he was unhooked, Milt swung his legs over the side of
the bed and called out, “Isn't God good--another day!”
In order to live for one more day, Milt paid a great price every night.
For the rest of his life. He went to Heaven on December10, 2004. His
tombstone reads, “Isn't God good!”
How does that gospel song go? “One day at a time, dear Jesus.” That, of
course, is how any kind of life is lived, but in particular how the
Christian life works. One day at a time, every day, for the rest of your life.
“Give us this day our daily bread,” Jesus taught us to pray. I wonder if,
up in Heaven, the Lord God ever looks at the six billion earthlings and
goes, “Oh no--I have to provide for all of them, every day, for the rest
of their lives!” Probably not. His resources are as immeasurable as the
universe, and all our needs combined scarcely begin to tap into His reserves.
The dailiness of life is part of our problem, not one of His. Bible
students recall how the Lord fed Israel with manna--the original angel
food-six days a week for forty years during Israel's wilderness wanderings.
God's people received a lasting illustration of the sufficiency of the
Lord for every day.
The movie Dead Poets Society introduced the Latin expression “carpe diem”
to most of us. “Seize the day” became the watchword for everyone committed
to making the most of each moment. Once we realize that life is a gift from
a good God, and not our right nor an entitlement, we're able to treasure
each day and make the most of it.
David said, “This is the day the Lord hath made. Let us rejoice and be
glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)
After all, this day is the only one we have. Perhaps if we get it right, a
good God will grant us another one.
By Joe McKeever
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it
might depart from me. And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for
thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore
will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest
upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in
necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I
am weak, then am I strong.”
1 Corinthians 1:25-27 “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men;
and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling,
brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the
world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the things which are mighty.”
Psalm 147:3-7 “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names.
Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite. The
LORD lifteth up the meek: He casteth the wicked down to the ground. Sing
unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God.”
Psalm 37:23-25 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and He
delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down:
for the LORD upholdeth him with His hand. I have been young, and now am
old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”
James 1:16-18 “Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights,
with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of His own will
begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits
of His creatures.”
All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.
Today’s Selected Poem: I ASKED GOD...
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem102.htm
Today’s Selected Testimony: JESUS MY DELIVERER
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony136.htm
In Christ’s Service,
Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry |
