Dwelling in the past and thinking so much about the outcome of the future greatly affects our present moment.
It makes us lose sight of the gift we have for today and before we know it, life has quickly passed us by without making the most of the time we had in the moment.
Certain memories, past events and thought patterns keep us stuck in the past while the fear of the unknown concerning the future keeps us thinking and obsessing about the future that we forget the gift of today.
We have all been at this point in life at one time or the other, where we can't seem to shake off certain things or events that happened to us in the past. These kind of thoughts call up distinct emotions such as sadness, anger and regrets.
We also find ourselves getting worried about what our tomorrow would look like with thoughts on our finances, our present job, our relationships and so on that we forget what God has given to us at the moment - the gift of today, the gift of life, the gift of sound health and appetite, the gift of a family, good friends.
Obsessing about the future also calls up distinct emotions such as fear, anxiety, dissatisfaction and a longing for more and more.
No doubt, we all think about the past or the future at one point in time and there is nothing wrong with that. It becomes wrong when dwell on these thoughts that we lose sight of what is before us and the things we can do today.
The Bible says in Psalm 68:19 "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, even the God of our salvation."
Living in the past and obsessing about the future deprives you of fully living in the moment. It robs you of the joy of today and blinds you from seeing the many benefits, gifts and blessings God has bestowed on you.
It saps you of the strength and energy needed to tackle the issues and goals for today as well as blinds you from seeing the opportunities before you.
The past and the future exists only in our heads. They aren't our realty but we make them so when we keep obsessing about them and could lead to anxiety and depression.
Like they say "yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift." God has given us the moment to make right every wrong and mistake of yesterday. He has given us today to redeem the time and appreciate the gift(s) of today.
You have no control of what happened in the past. Let the past remain in the past. There is nothing you can do about it so don't let it ruin the moment.
Neither do you have control over what could happen tomorrow even when you hope for the best. What we have control over is NOW - your present - and there are so many things you can do now that would bring us joy, a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment than staying glued on thoughts of the past or the future.
The apprehension or anxiety we express about the future may not even come to pass so why worry? The best we can do about the future is facing it with anticipation and not apprehension.
Why waste so much time dwelling on the past or obsessing about the future when we can make the most of the present?
Every day we get to witness is an opportunity and a gift from God to make the most of the time. We can only do what we can today in hopes of a better tomorrow but irrespective of what we do today, tomorrow still remains a mystery that we can never tell what the outcome would be.
The many people who have died never knew they would go the way they did, the time they did or how they did. They had great plans for the future.
Tomorrow is not ours to worry about because God has it all written out in hands. Only He knows what our tomorrow would be like.
That's why He admonishes we "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:34
You may not know what the future holds for you but you sure know the one who knows what the future holds. According to Zig Ziglar "Make your plans but never forget who is in charge."
Our best bet about tomorrow is handing it over to God, the one who knows what the future holds. "Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed." - Proverbs 16:3
"The Preparations of the heart belong to man but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord." - Proverbs 16:1
Never allow negative thoughts of the past and the anxiety of the future affect your present moment with things that are past, not happening and may never happen.
You can't spend your current life worrying about the past life and the future life. Let go of the past life, enjoy your present life and let God take care of your future life.
We future thinkers tend to be so obsessive of setting goals after goals, planning ahead to try as much as possible to avoid unpleasant occurences in the future that we fail to enjoy the things we have achieved so far from the plans of yesterday.
We even sometimes just sit down and keep daydreaming about the future without realizing what is passing us by in the present.
The past and the future are out of your control so stop worrying about the things you can't control. Focus on the NOW that you have a high level of control over.
Learn from your past, use the lessons and legitimately own how they affect your life. You have control over how the past affects your present so use the lessons of the past wisely and move on.
Plan ahead for the future, dream big and set your goals but never forget to hand your plans over to God. What some people do not realise is that the goals they work on NOW to a large extent impacts their tomorrow.
It is the little things we do everyday that lead to the success of our tomorrow and not dwelling in the past or daydreaming about the future. Your tomorrow is as a result of your everyday - NOW.
Feel the moment, feel your physical environment. Take a deep breath and feel the sounds around you. Let your physical surroundings - the sounds and scents around you - bring your mind, soul and body to the present and enjoy every bit of it.
NOW is the time that life is happening to us not the past nor the future and if we don't enjoy it and make the most of it, it will soon pass us by and go into the unreality of the past or the future.
Quote for the day - "Never let the sadness of your past and the fear of your future ruin your present happiness."
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