W.J Jeffers tells us in his book New Horizons, “There are two days in the week about which I never worry – yesterday and tomorrow. Yesterday, with its mistakes and blunders, has passed forever beyond recall. I cannot undo any act that I wrought. I cannot unsay a word that I said. All that it holds of my life is in the hands of God. Tomorrow, with all its possible adversities, burdens, failures, and mistakes is as far beyond my reach as its dead sister – yesterday. There is left for me one day of the week – today.”
Lots of people in today’s world do not know how to wisely use yesterday, today, and tomorrow – and they suffer what is called a nervous breakdown. Realizing this, J.L. Glass a few years ago penned an article titled, “Five Ways to Have a Nervous Breakdown.” His list, with my comments added, is as follows:
- Try to figure out the answer before the problem arises. This is like trying to cross a bridge that has never been built because it is unnecessary. Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34). Focusing on what may happen tomorrow needlessly doubles the load you are carrying today.
- Try to relive the past. If we can learn to trust God with our tomorrows, we can also learn to trust Him to help us move beyond the things that happened in our yesterdays. Focusing constantly upon yesterday’s sins and/or mistakes fails to realize that, when we have confessed them, God has totally forgiven them (I John 1:9). If God has forgiven them, we don’t have to carry them around any longer.
- Try to avoid making decisions. Avoiding the necessity for making decisions is like allowing weeds to grow in our garden. While we are not deciding, the weeds are growing. Putting off making decisions does not change the fact that they must be made. Both success and failure in our lives often depends on making the right decision. The capacity to make choices is our most godlike characteristic.
- Demand more of yourself than you can produce. Making unrealistic demands of yourself is like beating your head against a stone wall. You don’t change the wall; you only damage your head. God created human beings in such a way that we need one day in seven for rest. Workaholics would work eight days out of seven if that were possible. Making this mistake can lead to a nervous breakdown.
- Believe everything Satan tells you. Jesus described Satan as “the father of lies” (John 8:44). The Bible describes him as a master of disguise, masquerading as an angel of light. He will always paint a pretty picture of the things you should do, the goals you should pursue, the habits you should adopt, the places you should go, the groups you should join, the ways you can have fun, etc. But what he doesn’t tell you is the eternal price you have to pay if you are foolish enough to follow his advice.
An anonymous poet offers the following wise counsel:
“Just for today, Lord,
Tomorrow is not mine;
Just for today I ask Thee
For light and health divine;
Tomorrow’s care I must not bear,
The future is all Thine”
The Paper Pulpit 
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