I have a tendency to let my mind wander. Wander back in time to reveal past mistakes, failings, or wrong attitudes. This oftentimes leaves me feeling regret or shame. Other times my mind wanders to the future. Wondering how I am going to afford this or that, what the next step should be; or wondering where I will be in 5, 10, or even 20 years. This kind of thinking more times than not leaves me with a feeling of worry or doubt. Wondering if I’ve accomplished enough, or fearing that I will never meet my goals or fulfill my dreams.
Something that I have come to realize, even if I don’t yet practice it as I should; is that there is a great freedom found in living in the here and now. The present.
Jesus says that when we come to Him, repent of our sins and follow Him our past mistakes are completely gone (Acts 3:19, 2 Corinthians 5:17)! In fact, our sins are as far away as the east is from the west and God doesn’t remember them anymore (Psalm 103:12, Hebrews 8:12, Isaiah 43:25). If God can completely forgive and forget our mistakes, why can’t we?
Not only has God forgiven and forgotten our sin. He promises to use every bit of our past present, and future for our good (Romans 8:28). Yep, He promises that in the end, everything that we have ever gone through will be for our good; to make us refined as gold (1 Peter 1:6-7). Perfect for our King.
We can rest fully secure in the fact that our past is GONE! Wiped away and forgotten. We are a new person clothed in garments of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10).
A little different story can be told about our future. We don’t have any idea about what will happen tomorrow, let alone 5 or 10 years down the road. But we personally know the God who does! We can relax knowing that God knows the plans that He has for us and that those plans are GOOD (Jeremiah 29:11).
Rest in the fact that NOTHING CAN EVER SEPARATE YOU FROM GOD’S LOVE (Romans 8:38-39).
We also know that He promises to be with us and guide us every step of the way (Joshua 1:9, Proverbs 16:9 & 20:24). He will give us the courage and boldness we need to face the days ahead with laughter (1 Chronicles 28:20, Acts 4:29, Proverbs 31:25).
So, the question is how do we live in the present? I believe that we can live in the present knowing that the same God who forgives and forgets our past and holds our future is the VERY SAME GOD who guides us day by day in the here and now.
We declare these things that we know to be true. Over and over as many times as it takes for our brain to believe them wholeheartedly. We memorize these truths found in God’s Word. When we start dwelling on the past or worrying about the future we tell the Devil that we just aren’t going there! Then we remind ourselves of these truths. Believe me, this won’t be easy. But over time, if we are consistent it will become easier to live in the here and now.
Until next time,
Bailey Sue
