As I wrote in an earlier blog, perspective is everything, especially when it comes to attitudes. I have often found that if I change my perspective, I can change my attitude. For instance, a slow car in front of me may make me irritated and in a bad mood, but if I think about it being God’s providence, then I can lighten my mood and maybe even work up some gratefulness for unknown mercies, such as avoiding a potential wreck. When things happen that don’t go according to our plan, we see them as obstacles in the negative sense. For instance, a little while ago I started writing a blog post, but didn’t save the working copy. Usually auto save in Word will at least save a copy that can be restored, but I walked away for 10 minutes and my computer froze without Word even attempting to save what I had written. I had a choice: I could curse the computer and get upset, or I could start over and see it as an opportunity for something better. I opted for the last choice, which culminated in an example for another blog idea I had jotted down in my bullet journal.
We often get a plan in our heads without consulting God as to what He wants. Those plans rarely come to fruition, but when they do, it is usually not to our benefit in the end. God’s ultimate purpose is to have a relationship with us. He wants us to depend upon Him and not the things of the world. He sometimes has to put up obstacles to keep us from going the wrong way, like a parent putting up a baby gate. Sometimes he puts up obstacles so that we can strengthen our faith through working our “faith” muscles in overcoming the obstacle. Sometimes he puts up obstacles so that the only way out is reliance on God. We can do all things through Christ, not through our own efforts. We must start with dependence on God, which is easier said than done.
This week I have been in a constant waiting mode. I haven’t been able to make plans in advance because circumstances kept changing on a day to day basis. I have had to let God have the reins and work on what I could that day. I tried to use it as an opportunity to do what God had given me to do that day instead of worrying about what needed to be done tomorrow or next week. That is how we should live…one day at a time. “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof “(Matthew 6:34).
I am trying to start out each day focusing on what God wants me to do today and leave everything else in His hands. I’m not saying I succeed at it, but I am trying, and that is all we can do. So, stop worrying about tomorrow and just deal with today by putting it in God’s hands and see what He will do with it.