19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. Matthew 10:19 ESV
You have a disagreeable duty to do at twelve o'clock. Do not blacken nine,
and ten, and eleven, and all between, with the color of twelve. Do the work
of each, and reap your reward in peace. So when the dreaded moment in the
future becomes the present, you shall meet it walking in the light, and
that light will overcome its darkness. The best preparation is the present
well seen to, the last duty done. For this will keep the eye so clear and
the body so full of light that the right action will be perceived at once,
the right words will rush from the heart to the lips, and the man, full of
the Spirit of God because he cares for nothing but the will of God, will
trample on the evil thing in love, and be sent, it may be, in a chariot
of fire to the presence of his Father, or stand unmoved amid the cruel
mockings of the men he loves.
My Utmost for His Highest. Mary Tileston, December 20.
Oh, how many times have I "blackened nine, and ten, and eleven"?
Three days from now I have to (fill in the blank).
Tomorrow I have to talk to (fill in the blank) about (fill in the blank).
(Fill in the blank) has to be done, and I am not looking forward to it.
Jesus reminds her listeners that God will provide His children with the right words at the right time. Allowing that future challenge to become today's focus will not only strip today of its joy, but might also have a negative effect on today's productivity.
Does this mean we should not prepare for or pray about that unpleasant future task? By all means, "No". Jesus spent many hours in the temple in study, discussion, debate. There are numerous times in the New Testament when Christ went off alone to pray. However, He did not allow the future to destroy the present.
Pray. Prepare. Plan. But then allow today's focus to be today's tasks. This hour's assignment should be this hour's concern. Do today the best we can. He will equip us for tomorrow.
It is interesting how this blog entry supports the lesson I am teaching tomorrow in small group. Much of tomorrow's lesson will be spent on Joseph's response to God's direction prior to and following Jesus' birth.
Marry Mary who is pregnant, but the baby is not yours. Joseph did.
Take your family to Egypt. Joseph did.
He did not know each step of the future. The journey was not laid out from start to finish. Joseph was obedient one day at a time. His "Yes, Lord" was not dependent on knowing every jot and tittle of the future. "Today God said (fill in the blank). So today I did (fill in the blank)." That is obedience. That is faith.
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