Daily Devotional – 4/24/12 “Missing the present!”

If I had to guess, I would imagine that most of you are sitting somewhere thinking about all the things you have to do this weekend, right? Or you’ve probably made a note of things you need to do tomorrow or by the end of the week but what are you doing right now? So many times we spend hours looking into the future that we are missing the present. Why are you worrying with next month’s bills when this month isn’t even over? Why are you concerning yourself with next year when this year is still going? Matthew 6:27 asks, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” Yea, I know that times maybe hard, kids might not be acting right, spouse acting retarded, folks on your job act like they’ve lost their minds and then to top it off, traffic has been bad the last few days causing you to be late but worrying won’t change it. So, let me tell you what to do: finish your work on today, get in your car, let the windows down, put on your favorite radio station and when your song comes on (you know you have like 40, right?) dance behind the wheel and enjoy yourself. Stop by your favorite dessert place and get you whatever you’ve been missing because you say you’re on a diet, go home and kick off your shoes, grab your favorite wine or beer and RELAX! Stop acting like the customers will leave just because you didn’t return all the calls from the voicemails you have at work. Stop acting like your family will starve because you didn’t stop to get dinner, let your husband or wife or one of them grown kids pick it up. Stop acting like God will cast you out because you missed bible study once; you’re entitled to a day off. The world won’t end because you take a moment to yourself but you might. Let go sometimes!

We’ve got so used to working to save for future retirement but what happens if you work your body into the grave before that time comes? You’re working 18 hour days trying to pay off a 30 year mortgage on a house that you won’t have time to enjoy if you don’t slow down. Stop focusing so much on the future because you’re missing your present. While you are working all that time trying to make sure your child has all his needs met, who’s attending to yours? Plus you’re missing them grow up and then they’ll have the nerve to resent you for it later on. Either somebody is mad because you don’t spend enough time with them or mad because you don’t have the means to buy them $100 pair of shoes. Baby, it’s a never-ending battle so stop trying to fight it. Life does go on but not forever. Slow down for a moment and enjoy the blessings you have in the present moment. Ok, so your marriage didn’t work, get over it and stop focusing on whether you’ll get remarried, enjoy your single life now. Your job didn’t last, ok, but draw your unemployment, go get some government assistance (you’ve paid for it) and relax while you look for another one. Your car quit, ok, but your legs haven’t, so stop worrying about next week and focus on getting there and home, today and you can always use the bus which is cheaper than gas anyway. Matthew 6:34 says, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Don’t add tomorrow’s and next week’s problems on top of todays because there will be time to focus on them.

And stop trying to save everybody! You are only responsible for children who are too young to worry about salvation for themselves but those grown folk are just that, grown. Stop worrying about your son going to jail, who is in the streets, because he knows that his actions have consequences. Stop worrying about your daughter who is letting that no good baby daddy run all over her, she has 2 feet that she can stand on, all you can do is help the babies that she has. Am I saying take your hands off, yes because when you take your hands off, they fall into God’s hands and his hands are much bigger and better to handle it. If you’ve raised your children with morals and on the foundation of God, he still has them until they decide to let them in. God hasn’t left them, even though they act like they never knew him because he’s still there. Folk have to go through their own share of mistakes to learn from them. Just because you tell them the fire is hot, they won’t believe it until they touch it for themselves and when they do, bandage them up, pray for them and let them go. Stop spending all your time crying for them to be saved because they have to save themselves. Stop spending all your time on your knees praying for them because God has heard you but he has to wait until they open the door. Pray for yourself sometimes. Cry for yourself sometimes. Take care of yourself ALL THE TIME. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”

When you stop focusing on the future, you’ll see the goodness of God in the present that you’ve been missing. It’s alright to dream about the future but it does you no good if you never live to see it. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” God has a plan for your life and he won’t let you suffer in vain but you have to stop letting your suffering consume you because Luke 1:37 says, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Focus on your present because it gives you power to push through the problems on this world. Focus on your present because it gives you praise when pain is all you feel. Focus on your present because its peace will persuade you to pick up the pieces of your past and press on. Focus on your present because it pleases God who then pours out a profit’s reward from Heaven. Your present is a gift from God so unwrap it and then enjoy it.