The following excerpt from Springs in the Valley was part of my quiet time yesterday. It deeply touched my heart, and I find this devotional writing especially fitting as we begin the new year of 2025. It reads as follows:

THERE ARE TWO GOLDEN DAYS IN THE WEEK, UPON WHICH, AND ABOUT which, I never worry—two carefree 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 that day 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. 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! Oh, 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. ¹

I am someone who often reflects on my past mistakes, viewing them as warnings to avoid falling into the same snares, pitfalls, and bondages. Let history not repeat itself. Yet, there have been many moments when those mistakes resurface in my mind, unbidden, bringing with them waves of shame, guilt, and condemnation—followed by sadness. In such moments, I’ve wished I could relive those circumstances to undo my errors and sins. That’s why, when I read that devotional, I could almost hear God speaking to me in His still, small voice: “Do not dwell on the past. Do not allow the devil to steal your joy and peace. All your past sins have been forgiven. Move forward, for He is Faithful and more than able to walk with you.”

Does this resonate with you? Do you, like me, often gaze into the past and wish you had done things differently? Or do you find yourself overwhelmed by the present, hiding your face and burdened by the weight of today’s challenges? Or perhaps the thought of tomorrow fills you with dread, paralyzing you with fear of the unknown? There is no coincidence in God’s purpose and plan in our lives. Regardless of our circumstances and the choices we make, God providentially guides us to the moment of decision for Christ. Each of us then becomes part of a narrative far greater than our own lives—a story of God’s redemptive and forgiving work unfolding for the world to witness. Even events that seem coincidental are woven into God’s plan beyond our understanding. We know only that the thread of our lives is interlaced into the grand tapestry of God’s masterpiece of human history. Much is beyond our control, but each day presents defining opportunities to live for the Lord through obedience to His Word. Our lives may be imperfect in this world, and we have little control over what tomorrow brings. Yet, if we surrender and submit to God, He will fill our lives, having brought us “into the kingdom for such a time as this.”

God holds our yesterday:
Isaiah 46:9-10
“Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.”

God holds our today:
Psalm 55:22
“Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken”

God holds our tomorrow:
Jeremiah 29:11
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

1. Bob Burdette, Springs in the Valley by L. B. Cowman (Zondervan Publishing, 1939, 1968, 1997) p.4-5. ↩︎