If you are like me there have been numerous times that you have read something and it has really struck a chord with you.  For me most of those times have been a single thought or sentence, nothing elaborate.  But I have read it and been struck by what a strong resonance it has for me at that moment.  Funny thing is many times, when it comes to something from the Bible or an idea about God, it is not the first time I have read it or heard the concept.  But it is at this moment that my heart is ready to really hear what the Spirit is saying to me.

You probably see where this is going.  I had one of these moment recently while reading my current daily devotional, Sarah Young’s incredible Jesus Calling.  It was in the very last line… “Keep your focus on My Presence in the present.”  Boom!  Blown away, that was me.

I sat there and thought about times I am worried, stressed, sad, depressed, not living my life with the love and joy Jesus intends.  If I am honest with myself most of that originates from regrets of the past or worries of the future.  What a waste of my energy and time!  

The past is the past.  I cannot change it.  However I can learn from it, using it as a stepstool to a better TODAY.  Matthew, the tax collector and later one of the twelve apostles, embraces his past of stealing from his fellow Jews to being a servant to these same people.

The future will be there regardless if I worry and stress about it.  May I be like Enoch and walk WITH God every day.  While I do not know what tomorrow holds I am willing to bet that it will be more wonderful if I go into it trusting my Lord, looking to Him for guidance, and leaving travel partners Worry and Stress on the jetway.  

I read that line, “keep your focus on My Presence in the present”, close  my eyes, take a deep breath, and feel the Spirit filling me.  An uncontrollable smile spreads across my face.  I feel happier and lighter.  It was not as though I am currently filled with past regret or worry for tomorrow.  But being given this permission, this direction to NOT be is freeing!  Chains pulling me to the past as well as chains dragging me to the future are broken.  My hands are free to reach out to my Father and accept the present of His presence today.

“Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” – Psalm 90:14