A common tactic of the enemy is to make you focus on your past, and if that doesn't work, then he will try to make you worry about the future. It's a bit like Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol. You cannot change the past, and we don't know what is coming tomorrow, so both of these can be distractions from today. We should spend more time living in the present, not dwelling in the past or fretting about what may come tomorrow.

The Apostle Paul had many things in his past that he regretted doing. Before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul had been a Christian hunter. He sought Christians out and dragged them to prison.

(Acts 26:9-11 NASB) "So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. "And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. "And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities.

(Philippians 3:13-14 NASB) Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

The Apostle Paul had to leave his mistakes of the past behind, and I believe the enemy kept trying to bring them up. The other side of the trap is to always worry about tomorrow and what might happen. Yet, we are not even promised we will be here tomorrow, so save your energy. Jesus said it this way:

(Matthew 6:34 NASB) "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

(Luke 12:25-26 NASB) "And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?"

The Apostle Paul wrote:

(Philippians 4:6-7 NASB) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

It's okay to plan for tomorrow, and we should save for a rainy day, but focus on the positive and avoid the "what if" trap. When the unexpected problem comes, the Lord's help will arrive along with it. James reminds us that our life here is a vapor.

(James 4:13-15 NASB) Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."

Throughout the Bible, the Lord calls people away from their pasts. He transforms them along the way and guides them toward their destiny. They never know the end from the beginning; only the Lord does.

* Abraham left his father's house without knowing where he was going when the Lord asked.

* Sarah laughed when God told Abraham they would have a son together in their 90s.

* Moses didn't know he would have to part the Red Sea until he was standing in front of it.

* Joseph didn't know he would become the ruler of Egypt the day before it happened.

* Daniel didn't know he would survive being thrown into the lion's den until he came out.

* I am pretty sure that when Jonah was swallowed by a "great fish," he said, "Uh oh..."

* The young shepherd David became King, but had to fight every step of the way there.

Look at what Jesus told Peter and the disciples:

(Mark 1:16-18 NKJV) And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

In other words, leave your past behind, and I will give you a future. The enemy always tries to pull us back into our past, but the Lord forgives us and offers us hope and a future. All the saints before us made it through life by taking one step at a time and trusting the Lord to help them.

The God who carried you through yesterday is still with you today; let Him worry about tomorrow and learn to rest in His hands.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for today. Please remove my anxiety about a future I cannot control. Help me focus on what You are doing today and not be so worried about the past I cannot change. Let me see the world through Your eyes and make what is important to You, important to me. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!