“Yesterday is a lesson, not a life sentence.”
We all have a yesterday.
Yesterday may contain mistakes we wish we could undo, words we wish we could take back, opportunities we wish we had taken, or decisions we would make differently if given another chance.
But here is something important to remember today:
You cannot change yesterday, but you can keep yesterday from controlling today.
Too many people spend today paying for something that happened yesterday. They replay the failure. They relive the disappointment. They carry the hurt. Before long, something that happened in the past begins stealing the possibilities of the present.
Yesterday should be a teacher, not a master.
Learn from your mistakes, but don’t live in them. Remember the lessons, but release the regrets. You may not be able to go back and write a different beginning, but you can start where you are and work toward a different ending.
The Bible gives us this encouragement in Philippians 3:13–14:
“Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark…”
Paul understood that you can’t move forward effectively while constantly looking backward.
Maybe yesterday wasn’t your best day.
That’s all right.
Today is another opportunity.
Today you can apologize.
Today you can forgive.
Today you can try again.
Today you can make a better decision.
Today you can encourage somebody.
Today you can take another step toward your goal.
And most importantly, today you can trust God with everything you cannot change.
Don’t waste September 14 regretting September 13.
Yesterday is finished. Tomorrow hasn’t arrived.
Today is the day you’ve been given.
So lift your head, straighten your shoulders, say a prayer, and move forward.
Your past may explain where you’ve been, but it doesn’t have to determine where you’re going.
Thought for Today:
Take the lesson from yesterday, take hope into tomorrow, and give your very best to today.
J D Canter E Books 