In John 10:10 (AMP), Jesus said, “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].” Jesus was talking about our having an abundant, overflowing life in this life. Today! Right now!
We can’t afford to remain focused on past regrets. But we also can’t afford to live in fear of the future. Some people rejoice in yesterday. They’re always talking about the “good old days.” Other people are always waiting for someday. But God’s Word says, “Today is the day to rejoice and be glad!” (Ps. 118:24).
God’s ‘Today’ for You
You see, God has designed a plan for you today, and He wants you to step into that plan. He wants you to begin living above life’s limitations and enjoy all His benefits now! Today is the day of salvation. Now is the time of healing, deliverance, and provision. Today is the day of overcoming and of going on to spiritual maturity.
Today has great value. But we must take advantage of the opportunity it presents. If we don’t, the promise of today will be of no value to us. Here is one example the Bible gives us of a missed opportunity.
How you believe God in the present will affect what you receive from Him tomorrow.
HEBREWS 3:13–19 (NIV)
13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.
15 As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?
17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?
18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?
19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
The children of Israel were not able to enter into and possess what God promised them because of their unbelief. They died in the wilderness because they missed the opportunity to believe God and take Him at His Word.
Likewise, many people today, because of unbelief, are not able to enter into the things God has for them. As Christians, we cannot afford to disbelieve for one minute what God has said in His Word. We must be faithful in the here and now, believing Him and laying claim to His promises today.
Obey Today
Hebrews 3:15 challenges us to obey God’s voice today! When we receive revelation from His Word, He wants us to be a doer of the Word instantly, not sometime in the future. He is saying, “Don’t be like the children of Israel who hardened their hearts and disobeyed Me.”
Doubt and unbelief are why some people don’t receive from God. They’ve read certain promises in His Word. They may have even believed those promises once. But contrary circumstances rose up and caused them to back off of their faith. And they lost their victory when they should have won it.
It’s Not Too Late!
If that describes you, today is the day to pick those promises back up and meditate on them until they become part of you. Speak them out loud until they register on your heart, or spirit. Then keep speaking them until you see what you are believing. But start today!
Parents, teachers, and others in positions of authority have tried to instill in us a “right-now” attitude. Spiritually speaking, some people put off believing God’s Word. They have an “I’ll-get-to-that-later” attitude. I don’t know about you, but putting things off until later has never worked for me.
If you’re like me, when your parents asked you to do something, you knew they wanted it done right away. They wouldn’t accept your putting it off. So what makes us think procrastinating will work with our Heavenly Father? He wants us to believe Him today and trust Him now. Don’t limit God to the past or the future. Enter into His overflow blessings by faith today.
Make the Most of the Present
Our actions today open the doors of opportunity tomorrow. Instead of passively waiting for opportunities to come someday, we must act on what we believe today. We should be confessing today the Word that cannot and will not fail us if we’ll hold fast to it.
How you believe God in the present will affect what you receive from Him tomorrow. Unbelief kept the Israelites out of their Promised Land for 40 years. And it will keep us out of our promised land today. But faith in God’s Word is the vehicle that will transport us from where we are now to the place where we experience all the goodness Christ paid for us to have.
Confidence ‘For Such a Time as This’
Our Heavenly Father wants us to approach Him with confidence today (Heb. 4:16). He wants His children to start believing and trusting Him right now. Each of us is on this earth “for such a time as this”—for the here and now. God has a plan and purpose for everyone, and it’s a good plan.
Unfortunately, many Christians are not excited about “today.” They’ve lost what I call their “first-day” attitude. Do you remember how you felt and thought the day you accepted Christ and realized how much God loves you? You were full of joy. And what about the day you were married or the day your child was born—those first moments you laid eyes on that baby, so tiny and trusting?
If you’ll learn to live every day with a first-day attitude, you’ll find life a lot more rewarding. You’ll be so full of energy and strength that you won’t think about the past. You’ll be too busy rejoicing in today.
Your attitude about today is a choice you make. Today, you can begin living life to the full. You can live victoriously above hindrances and limitations. So choose to forget the past, trust God for your future, and live free today in the here and now!
Author
Kenneth W. Hagin
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