Read Ecclesiastes 7:9–12
Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions. Ecclesiastes 7:10

An Arab proverb says, “Watch your beginnings.” Good beginnings will usually mean good endings. The Prodigal Son started with happiness and wealth but ended with suffering and poverty (Luke 15:11–16). Joseph began as a slave but ended as a sovereign (Gen. 37—41)! God always saves the best wine until the last (John 2:10), but Satan starts with his best and then leads the sinner into suffering and perhaps even death.

When life is difficult and we are impatient for change, it is easy to long for the good old days. But yesterday cannot be changed, and tomorrow may not come; so we must make the most of today. “Carpe diem!” wrote the Roman poet Horace. “Seize the day!” This does not mean that we should not learn from the past or prepare for the future, because both are important.

It means that we must live today in the will of God and not be paralyzed by yesterday or hypnotized by tomorrow. The Victorian essayist Hilaire Belloc wrote, “While you are dreaming of the future or regretting the past, the present, which is all you have, slips from you and is gone.”

Something to Ponder
What can you do right now to “seize” today?