Resources/Articles
Yesterday
Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3:13,14
It may be hard to anticipate a New Year if you recall the sobering words of 2 Corinthians 5:10, where it states that each one will appear before Christ in judgment to give account “according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad”. Such a thought may be discouraging, especially when we remember your sins of 2011. But just as God is the God of yesterday, He is the God of the present and the future. If you take your sins of the past year, repent, and be reconciled to God, He will make your tomorrows better than the past. Your memory of the past is a learning experience. The past can be your protection for tomorrow. What will your past teach you about your future?
Since the New Year has begun, think about tomorrow for a moment. Maybe you view it with anxiety, joy, eagerness, or doubt. The best thing about tomorrow is “Jehovah will go before you” (Isaiah 52:12). Therefore let your mind “be not therefore anxious for the morrow; for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:34). What is there to gain by the worry of tomorrow? You will not be able to change it. It cannot be stopped, if it is destined to come. Whatever the future has in it, God only knows. If you are going to let God take care of the past with your sins, then trust in His hand to reach forward to the future and allow His grace to help you in time of need (Hebrews 4:15,16).
Do not be so eager about the New Year that you jump into it with haste, presumption, and thoughtlessness, or impulsively into ungodly activity. Go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before you. Your yesterdays hold some broken and irreversible things for you. It is true that you have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform your lives into something constructive for you personally as well as for your relationships with others. It is hard to let the past rest. If you refuse to “let it lay”, you will not be able to embrace the opportunities of the future God will place before you. Rest assured God will be calling upon you for duty, growth, courage, decision, and obedience. Remember, no race was ever won by turning back (Luke 9:62), but by running, overcoming the present, and looking for the finish...
