Live in the moment. It’s one of my New Year’s Resolutions. Yes, it’s the end of February and I’m stilling working on my resolutions. How are your resolutions going? Hopefully, the resolutions born out of your long-held dreams haven’t crashed and burned yet. If they have, you’re in good company and you need to read this post.
Back to living in the moment. This is something God has called us to do. Surprised? So was I when I decided to study this verse. In Matthew 6:34 (NLT) says, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
We aren’t supposed to worry about tomorrow or in other words, what the future can bring. Living in the present moment is how we stay in communication with God. It’s about letting go of the need to know everything. If we don’t learn to let go, then we worry.
Ahh, worry. A constant companion it seems these days. The world thrives on stories filled with fear. The scarier the story, the more it’s promoted and shared. Then the more we get scared about what the future could hold. If it’s this bad now, what it’s going to be like in a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks when we have more information?
God has not given us a spirit of fear. In Joshua 1:9 (NIV) it says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” God is always with us. We have nothing to fear because He is in control.
But do we allow Him to be in control?
Therein lies the key to tasting the sweet freedom God has to offer.
When we live in the moment, we are allowing God to be in control. It’s not about trying to rewrite our past mistakes. God has already wiped the slate clean with Jesus. It’s not about wondering what we need to do for the future to turn out according to our plans because God has it handled. But, and this is a big but, we must allow Him control over our lives.
What does this look like? God being in control? Of our entire life?
It means releasing all our worry over to God and living in the moment. Yes, this is easier said than done. Trust me, I have the t-shirt that says, “Let go and let God.” No, I really don’t have a t-shirt, but I should. It would remind me how to live by letting God be in control.
I’ve learned the tighter I hold onto something, the more it controls me. For those sci-fi geeks out there, I compare it to Gollum in the Lord of the Rings. There is nothing more important to him than the “One ring to rule them all.” He even named it, “My Precious.”
It made me think if there are objects in my life I would call, “My precious.” It’s these objects which hold me back from living in the present moment, from fully experiencing what God has to offer me.
When I hold something back from God, He is unable to completely bless me because I haven’t been fully obedient. It’s like when I ask my kids to clean their rooms. I go in for an inspection and think the room is clean. Then I open the closet and everything comes tumbling out at me. Yes, my kids cleaned their rooms in their minds, but it wasn’t being fully obedient.
It this lack of obedience, which keeps us from living in the present moment. Instead of taking the time to clean their rooms properly, my kids were looking forward to the time we were to spend outside riding bikes. They were attempting to live for the future, rather than be present and do the job I assigned them and do it to the best of their ability. We didn’t ride bikes that day. We spent the rest of day sorting through the pile that fell out of the closet.
There are days where I think God is shaking His head as I shove my spiritual closet full of things I don’t want to deal with in the present moment. God always has a habit of opening my spiritual closet up and seeing the mess I’ve created.
We’ve been called to lay everything at the foot of the cross. Instead of hiding it, we are to bring it out into the light for God to see, heal and handle.
By doing this we are no longer being dragged down by past mistakes or worried about the what could happen in the future. It’s about simply living in the present moment.
Do you have a way to remind yourself to live in the present moment? Share it in the comments below to help others.