{"id":960,"date":"2018-10-19T13:29:46","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T13:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/?p=960"},"modified":"2018-10-20T16:54:26","modified_gmt":"2018-10-20T16:54:26","slug":"letting-god-take-care-outcomes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2018\/10\/letting-god-take-care-outcomes.html","title":{"rendered":"Focusing on Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"achievement-adult-book-1043514<\/a><\/p>\n

So many of us wonder, \u201cWhat is God\u2019s purpose for my life? What does He want me to do with my time on this earth?\u201d\u00a0 But those are not the questions that we are meant to concern ourselves with.\u00a0 Instead, our question should be, \u201cWhat does God want me to accomplish today<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n

Trying to plan out your entire life doesn\u2019t make sense. You can\u2019t predict what will happen to you, or what unexpected issues may arise that could interfere with your plans.\u00a0 For instance, you can\u2019t predict if your marriage will succeed or fail.\u00a0 You can\u2019t predict if you or someone you love will have an illness.\u00a0 You can\u2019t predict if you will lose your job due to an economic downturn.<\/p>\n

What you do have control over is what you can accomplish today. Today, you can choose to get up early.\u00a0 Today, you can choose to give some of your time to God, either in prayer or in spiritually uplifting reading.\u00a0 Today, you can choose to give some time to your work and some time to serving others.\u00a0 Today, you can choose to not engage in pointless activities like watching silly television shows, surfing the Internet or engaging in negative thinking.<\/p>\n

The choices that you make today are shaping the rest of your life. With each day that you make good choices, you are building a foundation on which God can do great things in your life.\u00a0 Life isn\u2019t so daunting when we take it in small chunks, like that.\u00a0 Just deal with today.<\/p>\n

For instance, today I got up at 6 a.m. I drove my daughter to school, as I do each day, because I find that the drive to school is a good time to talk to her and to get her day started off in a positive way.\u00a0 Often while driving, she and I will listen to podcasts about current events and talk about them.\u00a0 She could take the bus, but I find that the drive to school is a valuable time to parent when my kid is a \u201ccaptive\u201d audience!<\/p>\n

For the rest of today, I will spend part of my day doing legal work and part of my day writing. In both, I always try to do my best because I believe that my work isn\u2019t just for the purpose of making money.\u00a0 Instead, I look at my work as a way to serve society.\u00a0 The better I do my work, the better it is for each person who interacts with me (or who reads what I write).\u00a0 I want everything I do to leave a positive \u201cfootprint\u201d on the world.<\/p>\n

Some of my day also will be spent in service \u2013 taking care of my husband and daughter, and taking care of our menagerie of pets. Some of my day will be spent doing work for our church\u2019s Sunday School.\u00a0 And hopefully in the midst of all that, I will find time for prayer and reflection!<\/p>\n

And that is a day spent doing my best. I\u2019m not doing anything terribly momentous.\u00a0 I\u2019m not saving lives or giving big speeches.\u00a0 But my hope is that today I am laying a foundation of hard work and service that God can use in my future.\u00a0 That is all I can do. \u00a0I can\u2019t anticipate what God is going to do with my future, how he is going to use me, or what opportunities he may send my way.\u00a0 All I can do is do my best with what I have today.<\/p>\n

That approach provides me with a great sense of relief! Just doing my best today relieves me of having to worry about tomorrow or next year. \u00a0I simply can focus on giving today\u2019s tasks my very best effort, knowing that the ultimate outcome of my efforts will be decided by God.<\/p>\n

Happiness comes from doing our best, and not worrying about what we cannot control. When we do our best, we are happy with ourselves.\u00a0 We live our lives without regrets.\u00a0 But when we obsess about the outcomes of our efforts, we live a life in which we are trying to control what only God can control.\u00a0 Doing so is not only futile, it is stressful.<\/p>\n

Today, just do your best, and let God take care of the outcomes of your efforts. Have faith that God has a good plan for your and for your life.\u00a0 When you give up trying to control the outcomes, you will be pleasantly surprised by the blessings and opportunities that He will send your way.<\/p>\n

(Photo Courtesy of Pexels)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So many of us wonder, \u201cWhat is God\u2019s purpose for my life? What does He want me to do with my time on this earth?\u201d\u00a0 But those are not the questions that we are meant to concern ourselves with.\u00a0 Instead, our question should be, \u201cWhat does God want me to accomplish today?\u201d Trying to plan…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFocusing on Today - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Focusing on Today - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"So many of us wonder, \u201cWhat is God\u2019s purpose for my life? 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