Thrive by Living in the Moments of Today

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

I am beginning a new series of study. My goal is to discover what it means to “thrive.” I’ll be looking at each verse from the 27th and 28th chapters of Proverbs, which ends by saying “the righteous thrive.”

All of Proverbs is a set of wise and foolish choices, giving the true consequences of whichever way a person chooses. In order to thrive, we can add to our wisdom by heeding the beneficial ideas set forth by King Solomon and stay away from the harmful ones.

As I read Proverbs 27:1, right off the bat, I was perplexed at the application this verse had for me. It seemed simple enough. Yet, it took all week with much prayer and thought to truly unravel the treasures gained by following its wisdom.

I learned that each new day is a favor bountifully bestowed for the thriving of my soul that I might live my all for the Lord. The world doesn’t dramatically revolve around me or my entitlement of tomorrow. Tomorrow cannot be earned or bought. Tomorrow isn’t owed to me. There is no one who must pay it back to me as a debt. I cannot borrow it and put a piece of it into today. As tomorrow approaches, I have no power to make it go away.

What a blessing to be in the present and not always staying fixed in the past or future. Each morning only comes one day at a time. I am provided with this marvelous breath of life only moment by moment.

As I get older, I realize how ridiculously short is my earthly pilgrimage. Gratefulness for each day I’m given reminds me of the preciousness of today. This very moment could be my last. Tomorrow is hidden and concealed. Until the morning comes, I am living for today.

Certainly, I make detailed plans for the days ahead and set great goals for the next month or two. Looking forward to my future is something I do with hope and anticipation. But I must never presume upon or boast that I have tomorrow, nor should I become complacent (casual) about it.

If tomorrow’s plans fall apart or become altered, it doesn’t have to disturb my peace of mind. I absolutely plan, but I don’t assume by staking my life upon those plans. Flexibility is an attractive trait I pursue with great fervor to help me thrive in God’s kingdom instead of demanding that my plans be fulfilled.

Certainly, it is wise to aim at a strategy for tomorrow and remove the mistake of being without an agenda, but not at the expense of today. Today matters. How much of ME am I investing in the hours I have left, knowing that tomorrow will be affected by today’s obedience.

What habits can I develop to make today count? How might I truly give my moments the reverence they deserve?

First of all, I don’t put off until another day what is required of me now, thinking that I still have plenty of time. That is boasting about tomorrow. The next morning may never come.

God knows everything. So if I am persistently prompted by Him to follow a course of action today, I must trust that He has knowledge I don’t. That’s why I partner with my Father. There is no doubt that tomorrow will be taken care of if it does come. There’s nothing I can do to change, shift or control it (by worrying about it today). But I can decide to be peaceful, and I can live today with joy. Making such a choice is the best possible preparation I can have for tomorrow’s agenda.

Second, in the midst of a terrible virus and a troubled, hurting nation where anger abounds, how might I choose to be fearless about my tomorrows and not worry? What can I do today, in my small corner of the world, to make it a better place?

In Leviticus 5, the Israelites were told by God (through Moses) that some must go outside the camp and be isolated, humiliated, away from their friends and families for a week, for years, or forever; some for sins they had committed, some for illnesses they had contracted, some for being in the presence of a dead person (family member who died), some for nothing they did wrong and nothing they could control. Yet, they were people just like you and me who could not be around the others in the presence of the Almighty God (and they wanted to be near His people).

These loved ones must have come to some sort of acceptance about their lives. What could they do in their small corner of the world to make it a better place?

They were outsiders. But they were still human beings who were thirsty, hungry and tired. They longed for touch and companionship.

There are times when I feel “outside the camp” for various reasons (especially in these days of isolation). Sometimes, perhaps it is because of sin and other times there is no particular explanation. But it doesn’t give me an excuse to give up, to forget about my fellowman or to stop worshiping my Father.

In fact, more so in today’s circumstances than at any other, I fall to my knees before Him. It is in such precious, dire moments I find that my hunger for Him is my greatest longing and not my desire to be inside the camp (where all problems are supposedly solved). He leads me in compassion to serve His people who are in need of my love and touch.

Jesus made me clean by His blood from His death on a cross. Yet, in my feelings of ‘uncleanness’ or wayward thoughts, angry words, lack of action or simply isolation, I turn to Him in my outside-the-camp status. I realize that, in truth, my very Christianity defines my position as an insider. Yet, I am human. Sometimes, I feel like an outsider. I’m sure I’m not the only one who experiences this. What do we do with these feelings in the precious moments of our todays?

We trust our Father. We acknowledge that today is all we have. We are not promised tomorrow. Therefore, whether we are oppressed and isolated by the threats of a spreading illness, the voices of angry citizens all around us or by human neglect, we still choose to shine bright in these moments and be followers of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We choose to rise, get our minds off ourselves and seek other outsiders who feel forgotten, lost and angry. We show them God’s love through phone calls, cards. Once, recently, I invited a stranger over and we sat far apart outside on my front porch and talked for hours. What a blessing this was for both of us!

Father, today is the day we choose to serve you, no matter what you have chosen for our lives. Send us your wounded and sad. Help us to be a light that guides others back to you. Help us to use this most holy day for your purposes and for your glory. Give us eyes to see and understand how important today is and how tomorrow will wait. Show us the way to your presence. Show us the way to be a healing force in our land, even in the last hours of today. In Jesus name, Amen.