Several weeks ago I decided to update my planner for the coming year, so I went to that big website everyone uses, made a quick search, clicked on the first result, and was this close to completing the purchase when I realized that something wasn’t quite right.
It was the date. This was a daily planner for the year 2021.
No wonder the price was good.
It made me wonder: Why would a merchant think there’s a market for a 2 year old planner?
Maybe the merchant knows us that well — and our inclination to dwell on days gone by.
Can you imagine purchasing this planner and filling each page with the items you could-have and should-have done back then? How futile would that be?
Actually, it’s not so hard to imagine, because we’re all somewhat inclined to do it…unless we make it our determined intention to do otherwise.
The Apostle Paul, who wasn’t exactly proud of his past, said this…
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)
This must be the determined intention of each new day: To put the past behind and fully focus on what lies ahead.
God has a plan for your life in the coming year, and it won’t be found in a calendar long out of date. It will be found and can only be fully experienced in the day you’re facing this day, and in the days that lie ahead.
So let’s put the past behind us, just as God has exhorted his people to do…
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18-19)
Before you invest your life in any day, check the date. Make sure it’s today.
