How we live daily matters. What we do each day matters. How we do what we do matters. When we do what we do matters. Why we do what we do matters. What we do but shouldn’t do matters. What we aren’t doing but should be doing matters. Where we steer our day matters. How we steer our day matters. The people we meet daily matter in the equation of things.
Each day is an accumulation of moments, seconds, minutes, and hours. What we do what those moments is very important. Each day is unique. That means no two days are alike. Therefore, we should not be comparing them. Although Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13: 8), He does unique things each day. Remember, when God created the world, He created different things on different days (Gen 1). That same God is able to make different—good—things happen in your life. That is why it is very important to know that yesterday ended last night but not God’s faithfulness. God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah once said:
“Stop dwelling on the past. Don’t even remember these former things. I am doing something brand new, something unheard of. Even now it sprouts and grows and matures. Don’t you perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and open up flowing streams in the desert. (Isa 43: 18-19, TPT)
God wants us to forget what happened yesterday because new things are on the horizon. He is going to do something brand new in a brand new day called today. That means we should be expecting something brand new every brand new day we are alive. No matter what has or hasn’t happened yesterday, today holds a better promise. Remember, His mercies are new every morning because of His faithfulness. So, no matter what has happened or hasn’t yet, something good and different can happen today. We don’t write today off because of what happened or did not happen yesterday. Don’t doubt God’s power to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think today because your expectations were not met yesterday.
God is about to do something brand new today. Therefore, wake up with expectations, commune with Him, get His agenda for today, and be interested in what can and will happen today. God is about to surprise you! Your expectations are from Him. No wonder the Psalmist sang:
This [day in which God has saved me] is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. O Lord, save now, we beseech You; O Lord, we beseech You, send now prosperity and give us success! (Ps 118: 24-25, AMP)
He will spend prosperity today no matter the austerity that has prevailed yesterday.
Today matters to God, His plan, and purpose. Today is crucial to His desire to bless, heal, restore, and made whole. Today is important to how He is going to fulfill His promises and perfect everything that concerns you. Today is important to the spread of His kingdom and the establishment of His will. That is why He asked us to pray daily. Today is crucial to His supply. He is willing to give us “our daily bread.” He is ready, willing and able to bless you each day you are alive. If it does not happen today and you are still alive another day then don’t lower your expectations.
How we live daily matters. What we do each day matters. How we do what we do matters. When we do what we do matters. Why we do what we do matters. What we do but shouldn’t do matters. What we aren’t doing but should be doing matters. Where we steer our day matters. How we steer our day matters in the equation of things. The people we meet daily matter.
Unfortunately, many of us have not considered how we are using our day. We don’t pay attention to how we live daily. It is imperative to know what we should and shouldn’t be using each day for. In the article, I want to suggest some things that we shouldn’t be using today for.
Worry: God never created you to live in worry. He has a way of making things work for you. Worry is faith that what He has promised to do or give you will never happen. It is believing that God does not care, can’t and won’t help you (1Pt 5: 7). It is faith in the negative. Jesus told us not to worry (Mt 6: 25). So, don’t lend your day to worry, it will kill your joy, expectations, peace, faith, desire, and incapacitate you to believe Him for the impossible. It will drain you and deter you from living a fulfilling life. Christian writer and public speaker Corrie ten Boom once asserted: “worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of its strength” and I totally agree with her. Those who worry can’t make the best use of their imagination and they won’t make the best use of today either. Those who worry don’t learn to rest in the goodness of God.
God has not given you any day to be afraid at any time.
Be afraid: As a child of God, you cannot afford to live in fear. Doing so is believing that God is not with you and can’t help you. By doing this, you have made Him a liar in your life. Bible Scholars have told us that there are 366 “do not fear” in the Bible. That tallies to one fear for each day. That means there is no day we should fear. Life can be scary but you should not be afraid. God has not given you any day to be afraid at any time. According to God, there is no need to be afraid because there is nothing to be afraid of. Don’t spend all your day scared that you are not enjoying life, taking a bold step or acting courageously. If you are afraid, you won’t live at all. You won’t stretch or use your faith.
Be a victim: Many of us spend most of our days living as victims of our circumstances and other people’s mess. We have allowed life to happen to us that has shut us down from rising above the events that have happened to us or rising to the occasion around us. We are not free and have become the slave of the immediate. Please understand this, “the moment you stop accepting yourself as a victim is the moment you start to take back your power” (Anon). It has been said that what does not kill a person will make them stronger, but if proper care is not taken or if they carry a victim mentality, what does not kill them can permanently damage them.
What I have learned about life is that our undoing is not necessarily what happened to us but how we have interpreted it and the meaning we have given to it. How we have used our challenges as crutches and not propellers or as stumbling blocks and not building blocks. The reality is that things happen, but we must trust God to help us navigate the challenges of life and develop His perspectives about those events. No matter what has happened to you, in Christ you are more than a conqueror because you are loved. So, don’t define yourself by the negative circumstances you have faced rather see yourself as a victor with the ability to rise about them. You can turn your misfortunes into opportunities for advancement and promotion. It is about perspective. You will rise again in Jesus’ name.
Don’t doubt God’s power to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think today because your expectations were not met yesterday.
Fulfill the lust of the flesh: As God’s children, His will is to keep your vessel clean at all times. God wants to use your life for His glory. So, He asked us to guide against living to fulfill the desire of the flesh but to follow the leading and the dictates of the Holy Spirit. Since you have been redeemed, God does not want you to return to your vomit or what you have previously renounced. Your flesh has been crucified and buried, don’t resurrect it. Don’t give life to what you have died to by living in sin. Live a holy life as becoming a saint.
Make excuses: Today is not made for you to manufacture excuses. There is always a reason to do something worthwhile with your life; likewise, you will find an excuse to do nothing if you want to. Today is to help you try something so that you can know what you are good or not good at. Stop making excuses for where you are when you can do something about it. Please remember that “the only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it” according to Jordan Belfort writer and public speaker. Stop making excuses for not moving forward when you can live progressively. Stop making excuses for your sloppiness when you can be intentional about your actions. Benjamin Franklin an American writer, scientist, and inventor once wrote: “he who is good at making excuses is seldom good at anything else.” Because “excuses are the tools with which persons with no purpose in view build for themselves great structures of nothing” according to best-selling author Steve Maraboli.
Live as a fool: A fool is someone who is senseless. Someone who does not believe in and lacks regard for the laws of God. Someone who is trying very hard to please people who don’t care about them. Some of us are making a fool of ourselves daily because of the poor choices we make. A fool has no self-control and does not hold anything sacred. A fool mismanages their time and are not directive about their effort. A fool toys with sin. A fool despises and looks down on other people. A fool focuses on what they don’t have at the expense of what they have. A fool does not buy the future. A fool does not redeem time or make the most of it. A fool does not consider God’s will in everything they do. A fool does not have any consciousness of things that have eternal value. May God deliver us from any form of foolishness.
Blame others: Today is not the day you live to shift blame on others for your woes and misfortunes. Some of us don’t like to take responsibility for our actions or the part we have played in what happens to us. That is why we do not do anything to make amends or correct our mistakes. Some of us think that other people or different circumstances are the ones holding us back and the source of our problems. We don’t tend to see if we are the ones responsible for doing so because of our belief systems, the associations we keep, lack of awareness of what is happening within and around us, negative thinking, lack of the right information, and mental capacity to process it. The time you are spending blaming others is the time you are not using to reclaim and rebuild your life. Stop the blame!
The time you are spending blaming others is the time you are not using to reclaim and rebuild your life. Stop the blame!
Run from responsibility: Everyone of us is responsible for at least one thing in the world today and that is our attitude. We cannot afford to run from the responsibility of taking ownership of our lives. In God’s kingdom, everyone has a part and role to play. God has His own part and you too have your part. God will not do for you what you can do for yourself and He will not expect you to do what He is responsible for. God will not abdicate His responsibility and He will not excuse you for doing your fair share. Unfortunately, some of us do not want to take any responsibility for our life and destiny. For instance, every capable human being is responsible for their learning. You have to take ownership of what you want to know, where you need to go, and who you need to talk to. That means you need to continually do a gap analysis to know what you have and what is lacking, where you are in comparison to where you ought to be and what you have in comparison to what you need. You are also responsible for your actions. Although you may not be responsible for what has happened to you, you are responsible for how you respond to it.
Keep scores: Deal with issues as they arise. Today is not a day to keep scores or try to get even with anyone who has offended you. It is time to forgive people and let go as you go. Forgiving someone is freeing yourself from the pain they have caused you. You don’t need to carry the baggage of unforgiveness around, it is very heavy. It will constrain and restrain you. It will deter you and restrict how far you can go in life. It will block your emotional well. It will kill the expansion of your bowel of mercy and compassion. It will keep you stressed, emotionally fatigue, angry, bitter, resentful, unhappy, unmotivated and uninspired.
Live for yourself: As God’s people, you are not designed to be an island. You were not saved to live for yourself but for Him who died for you. God should be the reason you live for. Living for yourself will make your world smaller and become unlivable because there will be no room for anyone else, even God. It will be limiting. Living for yourself will enslave you. It will deprive you of enjoying the mutual benefits that are around you. It will stop you from being a blessing to people around you. It will prevent you from building relationships that will enhance your destiny. You will end up being isolated, alone, and lonely. It will eventually lead to an unfulfilled life and destiny.
Reel in regrets: Today is not designed for you to continue to count your losses. People tend to regret more on their inactions—what they failed to do or accomplish, the steps they didn’t take, the opportunities they didn’t explore or follow through with, and the relationships they did not develop among others. If you want to live free of regrets then live today as if it is the only day you have. Live today and leave everything on the table. Make today count. Yesterday’s regrets can siphoned today’s goodness and blindfold you to the potential embedded in today. Try to take stock every day to see whether you have accomplished whatever you set to do in the first place. If you did not finish everything, evaluate to see if it is still relevant to your destiny and the direction you want to go and simply move it on to the next day. Unfortunately, some of us have not come to think that some of the things we are regretting about yesterday are no longer relevant to where we are heading to today.
Compare yourself: Sometimes, what makes people live in regrets is comparing themselves or their accomplishments with others. Everyone is different and has been called to accomplish different things to the glory of God. One thing that I have noticed is that if you compare yourself to others, you may be underdelivering or overburdening yourself. You may work very hard to put someone down so that you can be up or put them up while you are belittling yourself in the process. Living like this isn’t worth it.
