Where Do You Live?

“This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

The other day, someone asked me where I lived. I knew they were not asking for my street address, but rather a generalization with regard to where we were at the moment. I explained I lived “out in the country,” north of where we were.

I don’t usually give much thought to where I live physically. I just know I love it! Being in the country allows me to wake up to birds singing, to listen to the wind in the trees, and to see an occasional deer, opossum, or fox in the woods near my house. Similarly, I’ve never really thought about where I live spiritually. I don’t mean the church I attend, but rather, where does my heart live spiritually? There are really only three possible answers. I either live in the past, the present, or the future.

The past is the largest part of my life if you were to count it in years. Reminiscing about certain events, like birthdays, graduations, or holidays, can really bring a smile to my heart. I remember gloriously happy days when I was a newlywed. I easily recall the blessings of raising my children. Moving into my first home was another highlight as was buying my first car. I loved being in high school and hanging out with my friends. I think we all believed we could do anything in those days!

I also remember the day I accepted Christ as my Saviour. It was the best day of my life! I was so excited, and as a 12-year-old, my mission was to share Christ with everyone. It was challenging to share Him with my mother, but Fridays was always our day to spend special time together, and that is when we had our best talks about God. It took years before my mom finally was free of her Shintoist past and became a child of God. I still remember that day as if it were yesterday!

However, I should not focus my entire being on my yesterdays. The Bible says, “Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.” (Ecclesiastes 7:10) Living in the past can be quite joyful, but it can also be detrimental to my well-being. If I remember a time when I had a better job, better health, more money in my bank account, or less weight on this body, it can cause me to focus on the ‘if onlys’ and ruin my today! Comparing what was to what is can be disheartening! Dwelling in the “I remember when…” times can be nonproductive and a bad testimony to others. The Bible says in Isaiah 43:18 “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.”

Living in the past can be emotionally painful as it can also remind me of my former sins. When these thoughts consume me, guilt and shame resurface, and I become an ineffective witness for Christ. I forget that I have been forgiven. Psalm 103:12 states, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” God doesn’t revisit my past sins, and neither should I, but when I live in the past, I forget that He has forgiven my sins and will “remember them no more” (Hebrews 10:17). I soon become enveloped by the “old me,” and my life is deprived of the joy of my salvation! The only way to escape the past is to remember that “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1).

If not in the past, then perhaps living in the future is the better choice. First of all, there is no sin there to haunt me. I am looking ahead at a clean slate, so to speak. But there is worry. Short-term worries can be overwhelming. “Will I have enough money to buy new tires for my car?” “Is this lump a sign of cancer?” “Will I remember the words of this song when I sing it in church?” Long-term worries are equally as concerning. “Will I have enough money to sustain myself through retirement?” “Will I be healthy enough to take care of myself, or will I become a burden to my family?” “Will so-and-so ever get saved?” The Bible tells me “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself…” Matthew 6:34.

Clearly, the third option is the best. Living in the here and now. I cannot control tomorrow, nor can I erase the past. I can only impact today. “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth,” records Proverbs 27:1. There are a plethora of things in my life today that need my attention. God tells me to focus on the tasks at hand in Proverbs 16:3. “Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.” If I spend all my time wishing I could change things of the past or worrying about things in the future, I completely miss the opportunities of today! Matthew 6:25 reminds me to “…Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”

It is important for me to listen to God today! Hebrews 3:7 says, “Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice…” It doesn’t say ‘yesterday’ or ‘tomorrow.’ The verse says ‘today’! And then, the Scripture goes on to say, “While it is said, today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” (Hebrews 3:15)

The past is gone, and tomorrow will take care of itself. I need to be living in the present. Why? Because God has work for me to do, and today is the day that I must do it! He’ll let me know about tomorrow when it comes, and when it does, it will again be ‘today’! I don’t need to worry about it. God’s got it covered!

I don’t know about tomorrow, I just live from day to day
I don’t borrow from its sunshine for its skies may turn to gray
I don’t worry o’er the future for I know what Jesus said
And today I’ll walk beside Him for He knows what is ahead
Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand

(from “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow” by Ira Stanphill)

“But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Hebrews 3:13

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Never let yesterday use up too much of today. – Will Rogers