The Wellspring. No.17
“Understanding
is a Wellspring of Life to him that has it.”
(Proverbs.
16:22)
Occasional papers by Arthur & Rosalind Eedle
Yesterday, Today
& Tomorrow
A Christian Brother by the name of Bob Burdette
wrote the following words.
There
are two golden days in the week, upon which, and about which, I never worry -
two carefree days, kept sacredly free from fear and apprehension. One of
these days is Yesterday; yesterday, with its cares and frets,
all its pains and aches, all its faults, mistakes and blunders, have passed
forever beyond my recall. I cannot undo an act that I wrought; nor unsay a word
that I said. All that it holds of my life, of wrong, regret and sorrow, is in
the hands of the Mighty Love that can bring honey out of the rock and sweetest
waters out of the bitterest desert. Save for the beautiful memories - sweet and
tender - that linger like the perfume of roses in the heart of the day that is
gone, I have nothing to do with Yesterday. It was mine!
It is God's!
And the other
day that I do not worry about is Tomorrow; tomorrow, with all
its possible adversities, its burdens, its perils, its large promise and poor
performance, its failures and mistakes, is as far beyond my mastery as its dead
sister, Yesterday. It is a day of God's. Its sun will
rise in roseate splendour, or behind a mask of weeping clouds - but it will
rise. Until then, the same Love and Patience that held Yesterday
holds Tomorrow. Save for the star of hope that gleams forever
on the brow of Tomorrow, shining with tender promise into the
heart of Today, I have no possession in that unborn day of
grace. All else is in the safe keeping of the Infinite Love that is higher than
the stars, wider than the skies, deeper than the seas. Tomorrow
is God's day! It will be mine!
There is left for
myself, then, but one day in the week-Today. Any man can
fight the battles of Today! Any woman can carry the burdens of
just one day! Any man can resist the temptations of Today! 0,
friends, it is when we wilfully add the burdens of those two awful
eternities - Yesterday and Tomorrow - such
burdens as only the Mighty God can sustain - that we break down. It isn't
the experience of Today that drives men mad. It is the remorse
for something that happened Yesterday; the dread of what Tomorrow
may disclose.
These are God's
days! Leave them with Him!
Therefore, I think
and I do, and I journey but one day at a time! That is the easy way.
That is Man's Day. Dutifully I run my course and work my appointed task on that
Day of ours. God - the All-Mighty and All-Loving takes care of Yesterday
and Tomorrow. [End of quote]
I would like to add a
comment here from my own experience. Way back on
As one who, from my
youth as a believer, had been an ardent student of Scripture, gathering
whatever materials came my way for investigation, I was very much aware that
God had spoken directly into my own heart by these words. I saw just how easy
it is for men to talk about events in the past. Books past counting have
resulted from the study of all that is past. Furthermore, I found a liberal
selection of books that were based on Prophecy, that is called the study of
eschatology. These were my daily bread as I learned, absorbed, and enjoyed
these studies. But on reflection I saw that in doing so I had neglected the
value of Today. During the last 20 years or so, Rosalind and I have been much
more aware of the need to pray at the start of each day, of seeking to know the
Lord's will for the day. Kipling once wrote, "If you can fill the
unforgiving minute with sixty second's worth of distance run, yours is the
earth and all that's in it, and what is more, you'll be a man, my son."
No wonder the Master
spoke as He did in His sermon on the mount. "Be not anxious about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own cares. Sufficient unto the day are
its own troubles." Matthew 6:34
On that same day in
1981 I wrote the following verses.
He is the God of the Present Time,
The Merciful Great I AM,
Engulfing the Ages already past,
And owning the Future Span.
He is the Saviour who gives us Life,
Through the shed blood of
And Daily perfects us along the path,
Outworking His marvellous plan.
This is the Year of Eternal God,
This is the Master's Month,
This is the Weekend of Jesus Christ,
Behold now the Day of the Lord.
Now is the Hour of Salvation's plan,
The Minute for God to act,
The Second He chose to complete His word
In the final Wink of an Eye.
All of our tomorrows
have to pass His scrutiny before they reach us. A comforting thought
indeed.