Tomorrow Is Not Promised

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. (Prov. 27:1 ESV)

Last spring, my family took an extended vacation and visited many national parks. The trip is a wonderful memory we will all hold onto forever.

On April 29, 2021, we visited Petrified Forest National Park. I’ll be honest—I had never heard of this park, and I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Needless to say, as with most of the national parks, we were amazed. The beauty and uniqueness of the petrified logs was something we had never experienced.

I mention the date we were there because I have a photo saved on my phone of a sign that talks about the summer solstice. There are many petroglyphs throughout Petrified Forest, and this sign talked about the Summer Solstice Marker. There was a spiral petroglyph, and on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, at 9 a.m., the sun would hit the center of the petroglyph through a crack in the boulders.

It was fascinating to read and learn about, and I thought my brother would find it interesting as well, so I took a picture to send to him. His birthday is June 20, the summer solstice, and so I decided I would save it and send it to him on his birthday.

But my brother passed away unexpectedly a few weeks later, and I never sent him the picture. It sits in my phone’s photo album, reminding me that I shouldn’t have waited to send it to him.

Tomorrow is not promised.

While I regret not sending my brother the picture when I initially took it, I am thankful God had prompted me two years prior to be more proactive in reaching out to him. After he began to face some health issues, I set a reminder in my phone to text him every other week. My brother was not the communicating type, and he was not a fan of texting, but he indulged me regardless.

Some weeks I would only get a one or two-word reply, but other weeks I would receive a few sentences. Had I not had that reminder set in my phone to text every other week, I’m not sure what our communication would have looked like, being that we lived 600 miles from each other.

I still have the reminder on my phone, and I still get the notification to text him every other week. Now, I use the notification to pause and seek the Lord, to thank him for the gift of today, and to ask him who I need to reach out to.

It’s so hard not knowing how much time each of us will be granted on this earth. I’m a planner, and I love filling in my calendar with all the kid’s activities and other family events. However, those are our plans, and our plans are not promised.

Friends, we need to do our best to live for today. To send the text, to say “I love you,” and most importantly, to share the good news with those who do not yet know Christ as their Lord and Savior.

None of us know what tomorrow will bring, so give today all that you have!

Scripture for Reflection

“Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do.” (Prov. 6:4 NLT)

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph. 5:15-17 ESV)

“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.” (Col. 4:5 ESV)

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Ps. 90:12 ESV)

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” (James 4: 13-14 ESV)

Dear heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of today! Help us to live each and every day as we would if we knew it was our last. Lord, help us to love others well and to reach out to those who are in need of hearing about your good news. Let us not wait until tomorrow to say our I love yous or reach out to someone who has been on our hearts. Lord, help us to live each day knowing tomorrow is not promised. In the powerful and precious name of Jesus, Amen. 

Reach for More

While the Bible gives us many Scriptures to glean from about tomorrow not being promised, Thomas Jefferson summed up all of them when he said, “Never put off for tomorrow, what you can do today.” Tomorrow is not promised. So what do you need to do today? Whatever it is, go and do it.

Heather Gerwing is living the full life with her husband, Jeff, four kids, and a dog in Metro Detroit. Heather enjoys reading, writing, coffee-ing, and serving in youth ministry. She was born a Jersey girl and feels most at home on a beach. She is the host of the monthly link-up, Share Four Somethings. You can join Heather on the journey to living the full life at www.heathergerwing.com.

Photograph © Noel DeJesus, used with permission