Here is a question, “What is tomorrow going to be like?” Here is an answer, “Would it matter if I’m not going to be there?” The better question is, “How will I spend my day today?”
Here is a thought. Life is short. Treat every day like it is a gift because tomorrow is not promised. If we don’t yet, every morning before doing anything else, let us thank God for another day.
You may ask, “Shouldn’t we plan for the next day?” Surely, we should, because we want to be postured to make the best of our day. But we will not worry about it. Also, the better our day is today, the better our day will be tomorrow.
Who by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
Yesterday during a virtual seminar, the speaker explained the cost of not learning how to do the technique he was offering. He said, “Think of the financial goal you have for the year. Now imagine that it is costing you the size of that goal annually to not learn what I am teaching.” That is opportunity cost.
When we choose one path we are saying “No” to another. Some decisions are life and death, but most are not. Yet by choosing the wrong path we can delay or forfeit God’s best for us. Hence it is worth our wild to adhere to the counsel of the wisest man in the world, King Solomon, when he said,
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
(NIV, Proverbs 3:5-6)
How do we know in which direction God is leading even after prayer? In my experience he provides confirmation. It may come from the pulpit or a second person, as in my case. But for you it may be a combination of those or through his word or an event.
In Judges 6, God commissioned Gideon to save the Israelites from their enemy. But he was uncertain that God was with him. So, he asked God for confirmation. In verse 37 he requested that there be dew on a wool fleece he placed on the ground, while the ground remained dry. The next morning, Gideon woke up to see God delivered the sign. Then Gideon still unsure, asked God to do the opposite and the following morning God made the fleece dry and the ground wet.
Let us remain open to how God may confirm his path for us. It may just be the opportunity we get to experience a shift in our lives or even to be blessed in an unimaginable way.
Great is thy faithfulness, Great is thy faithfulness, Morning by morning new mercies I see All that I have needed thy hand hath provided Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me
The chorus of Great is Thy Faithfulness written by Thomas Chisholm and composed by William Runyan
I enjoy the wins, yet I have learned to appreciate the oppositions. They are opportunities to grow. With that shift I became excited for whatever was occurring.
Have you ever been, say, going through a doorway with your bag and part of it mysteriously got caught on the door handle? Or maybe you’re eating, and food dropped from your fork onto the table or worse the floor although you were being careful. Or maybe you did a nice gesture for someone else, but it was misinterpreted. What do these have in common? When we were striving to move forward something or someone got in the way.
In frustration or despair, we argue to ourselves, “I can’t believe this happened! Why did I get blocked?” Maybe God is faithfully testing us to see if we learned a prior lesson, preparing us for an imminent victory, or making us aware of an opportunity area in our lives. Either way it is critical to maintain a good spirit.
Have we made a commitment? Will we consistently stick with the behaviors and actions which support our goals? Will we exhibit courage in the face of fear and doubt, knowing that what we desire is on the other side of our fears?
The phrase for today is, maintain a positive spirit.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of our own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’
(NIV, Acts 17:28)
As a boy I heard other youngsters chant,
“One, two, three, four, five, I’m alive!
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and then again!”
This communicated their vivacious spirit.
Many start the year with this mindset as they anticipate new accomplishments. New beginnings infuse us with new energy. Yet according to a study, only nine percent stick with their goals and more than half abandon their goals within the first three months of the year. Why is that? Jay Papasan, co-author of The ONE Thing, during the 66-Day Challenge Kickoff Zoom Call on January 5, 2024, offered that there are three pitfalls when trying to adopt a new habit: habit boredom, wanting to declare victory too soon and starting too big.
Repeatedly undertaking the same ritual can seem boring indeed. But what is the objective of repetition? It is to attain mastery. Professional musicians and athletes understand this. They seek to not just become good but to master every nuance that is involved. They are striving to become someone else to attain that mastery. We can be gold medal performers in our field too.
Before a habit is cemented, we can tend to declare victory too soon. The 66-Day Challenge was created because it takes that long to lock in a new habit to where it becomes a part of us, or we have become the person who exhibits those new habits.
Although it is encouraged to have big goals, we must start with small steps. Dr. B.J. Fogg in Tiny Habis advocates that with tiny habits you can stick with the same small step daily and build from there.
With consistent optimism about our future selves and knowing why adopting this new person is so important we find new reasons and ways to live like we are alive.
One, two, three, four, five, I’m alive!
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and then again!
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
ThoughtPager 