Living In The Here And Now
Living life in the present tense is difficult for most of us. Our lives are governed by time. Everything we do is fit into some sort of schedule. Even when we want some down time, we have to schedule it in.
Being Robbed of the Present
The consciousness we have of time can sometimes bleed over into our spiritual walk with God if we aren’t careful. So many of us are haunted by our sins of the past. Even though we have confessed our sins according to 1 John 1:9 and have been forgiven of them, we sometimes allow the enemy to badger us, hound us and make us feel guilty for something that the Father doesn’t even remember.
[pullquote]The past is history and you can’t change it. The future isn’t here yet and in most instances you have little control over it. All we have to work with is the present. [/pullquote]
When we allow these mental attacks to occur, we are no longer living in the here and now, but living in the past. Not only are we living in the past, we are guilt ridden with a sin that doesn’t even exist anymore in the mind of God.
The negative side of living in the past is called guilt. The negative side of living in the future is called worry. Both can be detrimental to our spiritual walk with God. Our God is a present tense God. He lives in one eternal now. His name is the great I AM. He always was, and always will be. There is no time, distance or space with God.
Adopting the Character of the Great I AM
If we as His children could adopt His character of living in the now as opposed to living in the past or living in the future, our relationship with God would grow by leaps and bounds. Below is an excerpt from former Los Angeles Dodger Adrian Gonzales. Gonzales is known as one of the most consistent Dodgers of all time. Here is what he said when questioned about his consistency,
“If you talk to the hitting coaches, I don’t get caught up in what I did yesterday or that I’m one for my last ten,” Gonzalez said. “I could care less about that. Every at-bat’s one at-bat. It’s the same if I’m 10 for my last 10. For me, it’s all about that one at-bat I have coming up. So, in my mind, I’m never in a slump and I’m never in a hot streak.” Dylan Hernandez – Los Angeles Times
Did you get that? In Adrian’s mind the good that he did in the past doesn’t matter, nor does the bad. All that matters to him is the now. If you’re prone to feeling guilty about a sin that you’ve committed in the past, or if you’re expending your energy worrying about the future, I encourage you to concentrate on what’s going on in your life right now. The past is history and you can’t change it. The future isn’t here yet and in most instances you have little control over it. All we have to work with is the present. Focus on living your life in the here and now and sooner rather than later you will find that you’re mimicking the life of your Heavenly Father, the great I AM.
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