journey onWord with us

Do you ever feel like, “last week was too much!”?  Work dominated, family issues kept you moving, and you struggled for that elusive sense of balance. Today starts a new week and you may already be thinking it will be “too much!”, again. We must be careful, or life will be driven by emotions that cause us to look back with discouragement, and forward with a bit of dread. To live focused on yesterday and tomorrow will cause us to miss living in the moment, which will cause us to miss incredible moments of opportunity to care and love. Since your workload and activity calendar will likely stay full, what can you do to achieve that sense of balance?

If you are anything like me, you do not lack desire to live in the moment. But you struggle with consistently making the right choice. My wife handed me a poem weeks ago that fits the dilemma both you and I face this (and every) week. It was written by Helen Mallicoat, and the words are timeless.

I was regretting the past and fearing the future.
Suddenly my Lord was speaking:
“My name is I Am”. He paused.
I waited. He continued,
When you lived in the past with it’s
mistakes and regrets, it is hard.
I am not there.
My name is not “I Was”.
When you live in the future,
With its problems and fears,
it is hard.
I am not there.
My name is not “I will Be”.
When you live in the moment,
it is not hard.
I am here.
My name is “I Am”.

When Moses was having dialogue with God about leading the children of Israel, “God said to Moses, “I Am who I Am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I Am has sent me to you.’” (Exod. 3:14)  Today, if you are in Christ, “I Am” resides in you in the person of the Holy Spirit. And “I Am” will guide and teach us, if we submit to him, to truly live in the moment. Our choice will not be easy, but it will have incredible results. It may be wise to stop right now, and pray, “Lord, I give you this day, and I will live in the moment”.

Reading through the early part of the New Testament gives us a great picture of this principle. None of us are busier than Christ, yet His pace didn’t seem hurried; He stopped and met needs, spent time praying to the Father, mentored the disciples and cared for the masses. As He lived in the moment, lives were changed. I wonder if you and I can accomplish more by living in the moment rather than regretting yesterday and fearing tomorrow. Think about it, and live today in the moment.