Take It One Day at a Time

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. Matthew 6:34 (MSG)

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace–in peace because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3 (NRSV)

  

I recently got the news that my beloved dog has cancer. As I face this, or any difficult situation, I search for peace of mind. I turn to God in prayer–at first, crying and complaining about how unfair this all is, and asking for help to cope. I walk around with a lump in my throat for a while, letting fearful and sad thoughts swim around in my head. Finally, though, I ask God to help me see the situation the way that He does. Slowly, but surely, I begin to hear His voice...through scriptures, friends, Christian music and in other ways.  

In Ecclesiastes 3:1, God reminds me: “There's a time for everything, a season for every activity under the heavens.”  So when the moment calls for it, that's the time to be sad and mourn (verse 4).  But...if I'm busy mourning something that might happen in the future, I'm missing whatever blessing might be found in the current moment.  This brings to mind the message found in Matthew 6:34 (above).  In his song, “Borrow (One Day at a Time)”, Josh Wilson describes this scripture cleverly: “Don't borrow, no trouble from tomorrow / You'll only double your sorrow / You'll only worry your mind /....You gotta take it / One day, one day at a time /.... I wanna learn to hold my life a little looser / Live in the moment instead of in the future  / Let tomorrow worry about itself / And be here right now, trust all is well.”

It's all about trust. Yes, at some point, bad things are going to happen...and it will hurt. But if I ask God ahead of time to help me through those difficult situations, I can let go of my worries and completely trust that He will. It's very hard to surrender like this to God-in fact, it's a frequent struggle–but when I do, that's when I find peace of mind. I'm hoping to more often find God's peace as I walk this difficult road...“taking it one day at a time”.

Prayer: Gracious Heavenly Father, forgive us for letting discouragement take hold when we're facing difficult situations. Help us learn to put our complete trust in you—and in the guidance, strength and comfort you will bring. And thank you for your wonderful peace...that “guards our hearts and minds as we live in Christ Jesus.” Amen.

Sharon Irvin