"Take up shield and buckler;
arise and come to my aid.
Brandish spear and javelin
against those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
'I am your salvation.'"
Psalm 35:2-3 (New International Version)
I wanted to share this amazing devotional I read with you out of Springs in the Valley by L.B. Cowman. It has helped me to put in perspective all that is going on in this country and in my own life.
There are two golden days in the week, upon which, and about which, I never worry--two care-free 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, has 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 splendor, 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! O, friends, it is when we willfully 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--All-Mighty and All-Loving takes care of Yesterday and Tomorrow.
--Bob Burdette
All the tomorrows of our lives have to pass Him before they can get to us.
Jesus, take up your shield and buckler and arise! Come to my aid. Say to my soul, "I am your salvation!" Don't let me ears alone hear that, but the deepest part of my being where the terror of tomorrow lies and the regrets of my yesterdays fester. The enemy wants to hold me paralyzed. Please come to my rescue, my Jesus! I need You so desperately in the hours when my mind cannot shut off. Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I and be my Refuge, my High Tower. May I run to You and know that I am safe.
