My college roommate posted a saying in our apartment that stated, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift, which is why we call it the present.” Each day when I would walk past this sign, I would consider the words in my mind, but sadly, I fear, I would not always apply them to my life. It is easy for me to live in the past, obsessing over the missed opportunities, mistakes, or losses, missing out on more of the present. Likewise, I tend to be one who when looking at the past, I make plans on how to do better in the future. I miss the present.
The life we have been given is a gift. We are reminded in Acts 17:25b, “Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” Each breath of each day is a gift, and we are invited to steward this gift in ways that bring glory to God.
Our busyness and distracted lives make it difficult for us to steward our lives well. We begin our days with plans, to-do lists, and meetings. We hurry from one place to another. We stop to look at our social media accounts or the news, and we become overwhelmed with the struggles, problems, and disagreements around us. We miss our lives trying to live our lives in the way of the world.
In 1 Peter 4:7 we read, “The end of all things is near. Therefore, be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.” Peter is encouraging us to live with an alertness to see where God may be at work. An alertness that is attune to God in ways that we can hear His still small voice directing us to experiences that will bring God glory. We accomplish this alertness through a sober mind or through our self-control. When we are in tune with God and realize who we are in Christ, we no longer rush from event to event in hopes of accomplishment, but we see our lives as being in service to God.
The monotony of some tasks or the difficulty of other tasks may seek to bring us down. When someone takes aim at us with disgust or anger, it is easy for our day to be ruined in the world’s thinking. Yet, we are called upon to have self-control that turns our emotion to God, seeking not to get even, but to experience the grace to turn the other cheek. We are invited to keep our hearts in tune with God and to pray.
Today, we are called to live lives of self-control where we live differently than the world where busyness, distraction, and division reign supreme. We are invited to lives of self-control where God is in control and we are daily seeking the Lord in prayer for direction, unity, and strength. As you move through this week, how are you called to surrender to the Lord to receive self-control where the weights of this world no longer beat you about like a ship in a storm, but rather serve as the calm during the storm? I pray you will “be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.”
Prayer: Lord, I want your self-control active in my life. When I trust in my own way and allow the world to guide my decisions, I find a life that is filled with chaos. Make me alert to see where you are at work and to join you in your work to bring transformation and new life to the world. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.