#62 Today is Yesterday's Tomorrow(02/02/03)

The Message

By Dr. Robert H. Schuller

I want to share words from one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 139:

"O Lord, You have searched me and know me. You know my sitting down and my rising up. You understand my thoughts afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all of my ways."... Psalm 139:1-3:

And verse 9 is especially meaningful to me.

"If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me and Your right hand shall hold me."

These words were also a favorite of Charles Lindbergh. I visited his grave more than once, at Hana in Maui, Hawaii where his tombstone is carved with this Bible verse. "If I take the wings of the morning ..."

If I take the wings of the morning ...

I know what the wings of the eagle are. I know what the wings of the sparrow are. I know what the wings of a dove are ... but what are the wings of the morning? To me, the wings of the morning represent the faith that I embrace so that I am able to soar, to see, to search, and to scan the possibilities in the day that is unfolding before me. The wings of the morning give me a special faith to hold on to.

"If"... you can choose

"I" ... this is a very personal message. It is for you, not your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your husband, your wife, your boss nor a relative. This is very personal. It's not "if WE" it's " If I." You make the choice. It's an individual matter. "If I." Charles Lindbergh was an "I" person. He flew alone across the Atlantic.

"If I take ..." "take" not earn, not buy... If I take ... To "take" means it is given to me and I can receive it or reject it. I can accept it or turn away from it. I can take it or leave it.

"If I take the wings of the morning ... "See the wings as symbols of faith and when you take the faith of the morning that means you are leaving yesterday behind.

I wrote these next two lines some years ago:

Today is Yesterday's Tomorrow
Someday is Today!

Take "the wings of the morning" and look at the dawning of the new day with faith. Tomorrow has come. It stands before us and we can waste it ... or we can use it. The faith that we need at the beginning of every dawning is the kind of faith that will help us to be a visionary and seize the opportunities to be like the eagle who takes the wings of the morning ... searching, soaring, and scanning for food.

The "wings of the morning" faith is different from your nighttime prayers. When you put your head to the pillow at night, it is then that you thank God for the blessings of the day and ask Him for His Holy Spirit to give you a good night of sleep. But now it is a new morning and the end of yesterday.

Ruth Scott, from Medford, Oregon, said it this way, "Worry is wasting today's time by cluttering tomorrow's opportunities with yesterday's troubles." How true!

The dawning is the passing of the night. The darkness is behind you, the light of a new day is before you.

What does this new day hold? What opportunities? What possibilities? What ideas will come into your mind? What telephone calls? Whom will you see? What change and challenges will you meet?

(1) Take the wings of the morning to handle changes positively

You need a positive faith to accept the changes that you didn't choose and that you have no part of. Now you have to live with these changes! And you have to learn how to deal with them.

I heard about a woman who suddenly heard that her regular driver would not be coming back to work and she would have a new driver. So that first morning she said to her new driver:

"Driver, what is your name?"

And he said, "Madam, it is James."

And she replied, "Driver, I never call my employees by their first name.

What is your last name?"

He paused, then said, "Madam, it is Darling."

Immediately she said, "Drive on, James."

"If I take the wings of the morning," means that I'm putting myself in the realm of faith where I look at how I'll positively handle the changes that I wasn't expecting.

(2) Take the wings of the morning to review priorities
"With the wings of the morning, I will review my priorities." Maybe I had my priorities all set last night before I went to bed, but now it is a new morning. I must check, double check, and recheck them. I'll make my "to do" list and I'll be prepared to change them. If I take the wings of the morning I will have the power to adjust my priorities.

(3) Take the wings of the morning to soar above life's hurts

If I have the wings of the morning, it means I will learn how to handle the hurts and tragedies of life that comes to each of us without exception.

I heard a very touching story, a true story, told to me by Tom Harken, a dear friend.

A pastor was preaching and two teenage boys weren't behaving. They even talked out loud during his message, so the pastor stopped and said, "There is an old man in church this morning and I want him to come to the podium to tell his story. I am interrupting my sermon so you can hear his story."

The old man came forward and said, "This is a story about a man who was a sailor. He was young, strong and brave. One day he went sailing on his sailboat with his son and his young son invited one of the new kids in school to come along. It was a boy the father had not met. As they sailed, the father soon realized that the new boy was a very bad boy. His language, attitude and actions were the worst. Then a storm hit. It tipped the sailboat and he and the kids were thrown out in the wild rushing current. The sailor was able to grab hold of a rope at the stern and hold on. Then he saw a longer rope and threw it out to the two boys, hoping they could grab hold. His son was too far away to grab the rope, but the mean boy did grab it, held on, and was pulled to safety.

With that, the old man said, "That's my story."

Then one kid jumped up and said, 'You expect us to believe that? If it was a true story the father's son would have been saved and the mean kid would have drowned.'

The old man said, 'It may be unbelievable, but it's true. You see I am that sailor and the boy who drowned was my son. The mean kid who was saved is our preacher here. You better listen to him!"

"If I take the wings of the morning .... Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will hold me." (Psalm 139:9)

You need the wings of a faith that will take you through tomorrow whatever may come your way. God only knows, but God will be with you.

"IF" ... you have the choice. He doesn't push it on you.

"IF I" ... don't talk about anybody else." "I" is the person you look at in the mirror.

"IF I take" ... faith is God's offer. It is a gift. Embrace it and say, "Okay God, I believe that You will be with me all through this day. Your hand will lead me. Your hand will hold me. Whatever happens I will not lose hope."

(4) Take the wings of the morning to turn your weakness into strength

The wings of the morning are the wings of faith that renew and help you focus on your strength. Dan Chun, the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Honolulu sent me this true story.

A ten year old boy decided to study Judo despite the fact that he lost his left arm in a devastating car accident. So he took lessons from an old Japanese Judo master and he was doing pretty good. But after three months of training, the master had only taught him one move and it was the same move. It was complicated and complex. Finally the young boy said, "Sansei" ... (which means teacher) "Sansei, shouldn't I be learning more moves?" And Sansei replied, "This is the only move you will ever need to know." The boy didn't quite understand, but he trusted and believed the teacher so he dutifully kept on training and became better and better. Several months later the Sansei took his young student with only one arm to a Judo tournament. Amazingly, the boy won his first two matches. The third match proved to be a bit more difficult, but after some time the opponent became impatient and charged him. It was then that the boy used his one move ... and he won the match!

Amazed by his success, the boy reached the finals. Now the opponent was big, strong, and an experienced champion. For awhile the boy appeared to be completely over matched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time out, and was about to stop the match when the Sensei intervened and said, "No, let him continue." The match was resumed. Then the opponent, big, strong and tough made a critical mistake. He dropped his guard and instantly the boy used his one and only move and pinned him. He won the match and the tournament. He was the champion!

On the way home the boy and the Sensei reviewed every move and every match. Finally the boy asked, "Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one arm and one move?"

"You won for two reasons," the Sensei said. "First, the one move that I taught you is the most difficult throw in all of Judo and you have mastered it. The second reason is there is only one defense against that move, and that's for your opponent to grab your left arm." The boy's weakness was his strength! Wow!

(5) Take the wings of the morning to face your future with HOPE

I don't promise you that if you have the wings of the morning, you won't get hurt. I don't promise you that if you have the wings of the morning you will not suffer. I do not promise you that if you have the wings of the morning you will become rich and powerful and successful.

I do promise you, that if you have the wings of the morning, whatever today or tomorrow throws at you, you can embrace it, you can soar above it, you can keep strong. Face tomorrow with a faith that will renew and resurrect old dreams. You can face your future with hope. Faith is a choice. Take the wings of the morning ... then you'll face today differently. You'll face tomorrow differently. You will face eternity differently. You will soar even through the tough times.

That is God's promise. He has kept that promise with me. He'll keep the promise with you. If you simply make a decision now and say, "Lord, give me the wings of the morning. Give me the faith of Your lifting power beneath me. Amen.

Prayer: Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. And may God give you His peace -- in your going out and in your coming in -- in your lying down and in your rising up -- in your labor and in your leisure-- in your laughter and in your tears until you come to stand before Jesus in that day in which there is no sunset and no dawning. Amen.