I just finished the most overwhelming, stressful and oppressive act of my week; syncing my calendars. Each time I sit down to go over what was accomplished last week then look ahead to what is ahead of me, I feel a sick day coming on. To often our calendars are the measuring stick for our daily success and failure, usefulness and worthlessness, freedom and guilt. There is simply no time today to focus on today because everything needs to be prepped, done and ready for tomorrow. Oh how often I loath Tomorrow’s oppressive presence on my horizon. I wish there was someway to keep Tomorrow out of my Today so that Today wouldn’t be so burdensome.
Last night God was convicting me about the collision of our Tomorrows running into our Todays. I found it interesting how often in Scripture God calls his people to focus on today in light of all the impending to-dos, pain, and stress of the tomorrows. During Israel’s exodus through the desert God called Israel to have trust in him for each day and emphasized this point through providing manna. Again in Matthew 6 Jesus calls out the dissonance of how we, who follow Christ and claim trust in his provision, worry about what tomorrow brings. Birds don’t plant, harvest and store up food yet they never go without food and aren’t we worth more to God than a bird? Do we truly trust in God to have victory in our Tomorrows?
My natural response is to say, “The bird doesn’t have property taxes coming up, the bird doesn’t have to pay bills and save for it’s summer vacation! The bird doesn’t have projects piling up at work, pressures of family, supervisors or its achievement of its own aspirations! If I don’t worry about tomorrow then I have wasted my today and there is no encouragement in that.”
In such a culture of over-committement, over-involvement, and overwhelming intrusion of our Tomorrows in our Todays we must hear the truth found in Hebrews 3:13-14.
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.
What poignant truth this is to me knowing that sin’s deceitfulness is lingering in my today, ready to twist and contort my worth, value and freedom. Yet a much more power revelation is knowing that we are called to Encourage (meaning: to give courage) each other in our Today, sharing in Christ so that we may not lose sight of our identity and worth. Christ already tells us that struggles and pain away us in the days ahead but has promised his victory over all that. He is presently in the place where we are going. He has already won Tomorrow for his glory so that we may focus on bringing courage into our Today.
My prayer is that we separate our worth, value and identity from our calendars and our Tomorrows so that we may live in freedom Today. May we share in Christ, bringing courage to those around us so that we may all hold firmly till the end of today so that when Tomorrow comes we are excited to call it Today.
Uncomfortable Middle 
I was waiting and waiting for your next blog…and yet, maybe I should have been just living in today! JK
This is really good truth Evan and something that I continually have to be reminded of. When I look at the scope of the things that are being accomplished here and what each day holds for me–it is very overwhelming. I look at my journal entries and see time and time again how I have written something about being overwhelmed because of the things that have to be accomplished.
Yet, Jesus told us not to worry–to let today take care of itself. It’s so true. If I can’t trust God with my future Tomorrows, how can I trust him with my Todays? So often I take the reigns and it becomes unbearably overwhelming. Handing over the weight of Tomorrows helps me live more presently in Today.
Thanks for reminding me of the truth and for the encouragement you bring through your words and your friendship.
Love you