Crossing the Dateline “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34 Don’t cross the dateline! That’s my new battle cry for all who want to live by faith, but are finding it so difficult. Not crossing the dateline has been the single most important truth the Lord has given me in the area of living by faith. It has enabled me to begin trusting Him moment-by-moment and begin living a life of faith. What do I mean by “Don’t cross the dateline.” The simple answer is to stay in the present, keep your mind dwelling on today, not tomorrow (or further out!) or yesterday (again, or further out!). Such a simple concept, yet so difficult! When the Lord opened my eyes to his command in Matthew 6:34, it was literally six weeks before I began to experience any victory at all. Why? Because all of our lives, we have been encouraged to worry about and plan for the future and when we’re not doing that, we spend so much time regretting or relishing the past. How much time do you spend in the present? Take a moment and think about it. What have you been worrying about in the future? Bills, job, car, food, money, relationships, kids, war, terrorism, flying? You can probably think of quite a few more. For a lot of us, it’s almost a full-time occupation, leaving little time for anything else. In fact there are some of you who actually feel guilty if you’re not worrying! I know. I was one of those. As the Lord started setting me free from living in the future, there were times when I felt a little guilty, because I wasn’t worrying! Like I wasn’t fulfilling an obligation or showing enough concern. As if worrying can change anything. Or maybe you’ve bought in to the whole “goal-setting” nonsense that’s taught and promoted everywhere. You’ve got your long-term, mid-term and short-term goals. You're mapping your future out so that you can accomplishÉaccomplish what? Your plans? Your objectives? Let’s put this living in the future to rest. You already have Matthew 6:34 at the beginning of the article. It’s a command! But if that’s not enough, let’s look at a little more of Matthew 6, verses 24-33. “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” “Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” | ||||||
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"How much time to you spend in the present?" | ||||||
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