Friends
Is their a song in your heart today? Is it a ballad of woe or a hymn of praise?
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Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me.
Psalm 138:7 – NIV
“Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away…”**
Do you yearn for yesterday? Like the words of that 1965 Beatles song, do you long for the day when your troubles were far away?
Does the past offer you a sense of nostalgia? A sense of better days and easier times?
Perhaps your glance into the past is not so pleasant. Do the memories of yesterday stir up regret? Does resentment and bitterness cloud your view of bygone days?
Maybe your eyes are not focused on the past, but set on the future? Are your daydreams of better times keeping you going? Are you plotting and planning, hoping to escape your current realities?
Perhaps your fears for the future feel like an anchor around your neck right now. What will happen? How will I cope?
“Now I need a place to hide away, oh I believe in yesterday.”**
Given our present circumstances, I sometimes find myself needing a place to hide away. The regrets of the past, the fears for the future, the problems of today…they mix, they mingle, joining together like a ring of bandits intent on sabotaging my hope and stealing my joy.
But here’s the thing. I believe in something far beyond yesterday. My hope lies not in my plans for tomorrow, but in the One who is my Rock, my Refuge, my Redeemer. “But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge” (Psalm 94:22, NIV).
God’s grace covers the difficulties of the present. God’s grace goes with me into tomorrow.
The Lord watches over me. “The Lord will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life” (Psalm 121:7, NIV). God knows what awaits me on the road ahead, and He waits there to walk it with me.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9, NIV).
Today, the song we are called to sing is not a ballad of former days. It’s not even a wistful refrain of glory days to come. No, it’s a song of praise and Thanksgiving, of beauty and blessing despite our trials and troubles. Hardship and loss may be upon us, but there is still so much to be thankful for. A roof over our heads, ample food to eat, soles on the shoes of our feet…our list of daily blessings is endless if we will but stop and take notice.
Let us approach this day with a new song.
“I have no yesterdays,
Time took them away.
Tomorrow may not be,
But I have today.”
-Author Unknown
Friends, yesterday, for all its good and bad, is gone. Tomorrow is in God’s hands, not ours. We have today. Will we waste it on worry or tarnish it with complaint? Or will we stride into it with a smile on our faces and a song in our hearts?
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Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense ; he has become my salvation. ”
Isaiah 12:2 – NIV
PRAYER
O Lord God Almighty, you go with us wherever we go. Lord, we find ourselves weary in the waiting, wistful for easier days of the past, longing for better days to come. Lord, help us to treasure today, to make the most of its gift, to serve You in all we do. This day will not come again. Let us honor it with acts of kindness and a song of praise.
In the Glorious Name of Jesus, we pray,
Amen
Blessings,
Anita
-APS 2/15/2021
**Quote from the Lyrics for “Yesterday” by the Beatles, 1965
Faith Beyond Sight 