Seize the Day
A few months ago I was going through some old journals of mine from college to find some things to help one of the girls in my youth group. As I was thumbing through the pages, I found a poem, “Seize the Day”, I had written about not worrying about the future.
My student I was working with loved the poem and took a picture of that page in my journal. Even though that was months ago, she just recently shared with me and the other girls in our small group that the poem has really helped her and that she still reads it often. I was touched that something that I had just written in a private quiet time over 20 years ago could be beneficial to someone now.
As I was pondering what to write about this week, that poem came back to mind because of the words “Seize the day”. It felt a little appropriate for many reasons. Primarily at the front of my mind are the graduating seniors that have missed out on so much their senior year because of COVID-19. There are still so many unknowns in the future and so much loss experienced over the past few months. Seize the day seems like some timely advice for graduates who will not get this time back.
It’s also wise counsel for so many others of us who are also affected by this COVID-19 crisis. We can live in the past mourning all of the things that we are missing. We can fret about the future and what is to come (or NOT come) and the timing of it all. OR…We could seize the day and live in this present moment, trusting God.
23 years ago…
In my journal entry I wrote about how God had worked some things out that I had been worrying about. I honestly do not remember any of the specific details of that time (and my journal entry was a bit vague), but the point was that God came through when I just trusted him instead of worrying. I was writing to remind myself to stop worrying, trust in God, and make the most of my present moments in the process.
Here is my journal entry from January 20, 1997
God showed me a lesson tonight. How many times does he have to tell me “Don’t Worry”? God took care of me in working situations out. He provided a way to talk to a friend, and he changed another friend’s heart (for whom I had been praying) to have patience and wait for God’s timing.
“Casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (HCSB)
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:34 (KJV)
I have learned to just take things a day at a time. Don’t worry about the future, and don’t live in the past! Live in the NOW!
God gave me a poem:
“Seize the Day”
Tomorrow brings another day
I do not have the words to say
I only know to trust in God
Or else the others will I defraud
I cannot worry
I cannot fret
God will provide an answer yet
Predict not the future
Forget not the past
Live in the present
And on God your burdens cast
He will take your cares away
Live moment by moment
And day by day
Do not be anxious for the morrow
Lest you live in fear and sorrow
Take some risks
Fail you may, BUT
Carpe Diem,
Seize the day
Take Some Practical Steps to Seize the Day:
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First, don’t live in or dwell on the past.
“But the LORD says, “Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago. Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already—you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there.” Isaiah 43:18-19 (GNT)
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Secondly, don’t worry about the future.
“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Matthew 6:34 (NLT)
“There is hope for your future,” says the LORD. “Your children will come again to their own land.” Jeremiah 31:17 (NLT)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) **NOTE—This was written to God’s people in captivity, giving them some hope for the future in the midst of their current suffering.
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Finally, seize the day!
Seize your current opportunities. Seize the opportunity to trust in God in your current situation. Take the opportunity to live like and for Jesus (not just for yourself) in this present time. Make your life count. Don’t waste it. Don’t waste this time.
“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” Ephesians 5:15-76 (NLT)
How are YOU going to seize the day? Tell us about it by leaving a comment below!
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