If I conducted a survey among older adults asking them what their biggest piece of advice for the younger generation is, I could almost guarantee you that the vast majority of them would say something along the lines of “live in the moment.” I mean, that’s practically the only thing we hear from older family members and friends throughout our entire four years of high school.
What’s crazy to me is that I never took that advice seriously. I never stopped to think about the importance of actually ‘living in the moment.’
Here’s the thing:
I’m really bad about this. We all are. As humans, we have a tendency to worry about what’s coming next. My friend Samantha always says that having a certain amount of anxiety about the future is healthy. If we had no concern about the future at all, we would never be prepared for anything. But more often than not, we don’t have just that healthy amount of anxiety.
When we’re in high school we're worrying about college, and then when we’re in college we’re worrying about graduating. When we’re single we’re worried about dating and when we’re dating we’re worried about getting married.
If we’re always looking forward, how can we expect to experience what God has for us now?
He has so much more for you in this season of your life than you could ever imagine. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be where you are. But the enemy doesn’t want you to experience that. He doesn’t want you to reach your full potential in Christ. He uses that tendency we have to look forward against us. He distracts us from what’s going on around us right now by the ‘what ifs’ and ‘hows’ of the the future.
What God has for you now is a stepping stone to what He has in store for your future. He will use the things you are experiencing and the characteristics you are developing right now to compliment His plan for you. I wonder if by worrying about the future and not living in the now, could we actually be missing out on what could be used for something incredible in our future?
Here’s my challenge for you:
Be still and rest for a little bit. Look around you. Look at what’s going on around you in this season of your life and be intentional with your time and with people. Pray about how you can spread the Gospel, further the kingdom, and build your faith in THIS season of your life, even if it’s not where you want to be right now.
