Focus on Today

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. Proverbs 27:1 ESV

Illustration

Norman Cousins tells of being hospitalized with a rare, crippling disease. When he was diagnosed as incurable, Cousins checked out of the hospital. Aware of the harmful effects that negative emotions can have on the body, Cousins reasoned the reverse was true. So, he borrowed a movie projector and prescribed his own treatment, consisting of Marx Brothers films and old "Candid Camera" reruns.

It didn’t take long for him to discover that 10 minutes of laughter provided two hours of pain-free sleep. Amazingly, his debilitating disease was eventually reversed. After the account of his victory appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, Cousins received more than 3000 letters from appreciative physicians throughout the world.

What would you do if told you had one week, or month left to live? How would you spend your last remaining days on earth? Most people do not think about the fact that we are all living on borrowed time. All of us have an expiration date. For some, it may be 50 years, but for others, it may be 50 days. While it is wise to prepare for the future, we must be careful not to make any assumptions about the length of our life on Earth.

Those who have been told they have a very limited time to live, should not spend that time begrudging their lives and being angry with God. Instead, they should focus on enjoying their remaining time on earth and celebrating the blessings of being with family and loved ones. They should start preparing for their eternal life with God and look forward to their eternal rewards.

All we have to work with is today. Therefore, we should make today the best day of the rest of our lives. That means, enjoying family and loved ones as best as possible today. Don’t put for tomorrow what should be done today. Today is the best day to seek forgiveness for our trespasses and to extend forgiveness to those who trespass against us.

To the unsaved who are waiting for the right time to give their lives to God, I say, your delay can have eternal consequences. Don’t assume you will have time to get right with the Lord. Take a leap of faith today and begin your preparation for eternity.

Today is the best time to start a business, write a book, plant financial seeds, look for suitable employment, or get professional help for a physical or mental sickness. Many people waited too long before going to their physicians and allowing a treatable disease to become incurable. I often tell my children not to wait for tomorrow to start planning their lives. Students who do not wait for tomorrow to do their assignments are usually more successful.

Tomorrow is beyond human control. A person’s life can be altered in a matter of seconds. That does not mean we should put all our focus on today. The wise approach should be to plan our future by being diligent in everything we do today. We should appreciate and enjoy the experiences of today even as we look forward to a brighter future.

It is said the present is a gift from God we should open and enjoy right now. The future is a wonderland filled with dreams, hopes, and expectations which are not necessarily guaranteed to anyone. We should march into the future with humility, reverence, hope, and trust in God. We should not boast about tomorrow because it does not belong to us.

We need to count the blessings for each day with thanksgiving. For the Lord’s mercy and grace are showered upon us as the manifestation of His love. Despite the challenges of today, we are blessed to experience it. Today may not be perfect, but it can be perfected with an attitude of appreciation for all that it offers, a spirit of love for the people in our lives and the God who gave us life, and unshakable joy because of our faith in the God who gave us physical and eternal life.

Questions for Personal Reflection

Why should we not boast about tomorrow?

How do you stay focused on today even as you plan for tomorrow?

Prayer- Blessed Lord, I thank you for the gift of today. Please remind me to be thankful through every challenge and not forgot the privilege of enjoying life to the fullness today.