It’s okay to slow down. Your time in life is precious. This very moment that you have is valuable. We can be in a hurry to make money, we can be in a rush to get into and out of relationships, we can frantically sprint towards a goal that we feel we must accomplish. The constant pressure to perform, fit in, and be successful at whatever we do can cause us to undervalue the present by overvaluing the future. I’m sure you’ve heard the sentiment expressed: “Live in the moment.”
But what does that really mean, and what does that really look like? It’s a simple but profound reminder to treat this present moment as the most valuable moment you’ll ever have. It’s not about treating every moment like a celebration, or making every day as monumental as a wedding, graduation, giving birth, or similar life events. It’s about enjoying life moment to moment by valuing where you are at and what you are doing regardless of whatever that may be. When things are fast-paced with high demands on your time, enjoy it, take a breath, smile, and count your blessings amidst the chaos. When things are quiet, relish in the opportunity to collect your thoughts, spend time with God, fellowship with a dear loved one, watch your favorite show, eat a meal, cook, read a book while enjoying coffee or tea, but whatever it is you choose to do, don’t treat it as wasting time, treat it as enjoying the salvation that Christ paid such a hefty price for you to enjoy. It can be very difficult to carve out time to enjoy a quiet moment, and some may not even enjoy spending time away from it all, but rather you are at work, at home, in the hospital, or on vacation, you can make the decision to slow down and value the moment you are currently in. When you look at your life as a percentage, your day-to-day home life and work life make up a good 80 percent of it. The celebrations, the vacations, the date night once a month, the evenings or weekends you actually don’t have something planned—these all make up a very small portion of our lives and many endure the 80 percent of their life in hopes of enjoying the very small fraction of life that is left. Even worse, that last 20 or so percent we try to enjoy, we end up spending that time dreading about going back to the other part of life. Don’t get caught up in the easy trap of living an unfulfilled life. Christ never intended for us to be so focused on the past or the future that you don’t enjoy the present. A good rule to live by is to: Learn from the past, plan for the future, but live in the present.
The Bible carries with it this same sentiment, and it gives you the truth of how to escape spending too much time in the past or future—and how to enjoy the moment with Christ.
When you’re living in the past:
“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” —Philippians 3:12–14 NLT
When you’re worrying about the future:
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” —Matthew 6:25–34 NLT
And finally, when you’re moving too fast:
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” —Matthew 11:28–30 MSG
God bless,
Jake and Keith
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