Is it possible to become too consumed with our present? Is it possible to only think about where we are today and forget that today doesn’t have to hold our tomorrows hostage?
I understand the importance of savoring the moment. I wrote about the moments in our lives are what matter most.
If I squander all the moments I’m given, at the end of life, I will realize that it was not just moments I lost but my life wasted. –Just A Matter of Moments
But today I’m thinking about how all too often I allow the pale gray of my today to wash out the beautiful hues of possibilities that tomorrow can bring. As children, we are encouraged to dream about the endless possibilities that lie ahead. Yet some where along the route through adulthood, we are called to come out of the clouds and dwell in what is. I am not proposing that we all wash away the realities of today for the illusions of Neverland but rather that we not allow our hopes to be diluted by what we currently see.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18 (KJV)
God himself doesn’t limit our possibilities by the state of our current condition. In this passage of Isaiah, it doesn’t deny the fact that sin is there presently but he provides hope for the future…they shall be as white as snow. To see both what is and what is to come—a true gift.
In the book, Praying for Your Future Husband, she co-authored, Tricia Goyer shares her story of her sin stained beginnings that found her pregnant at seventeen. With teenage pregnancy and broken relationships looming over her head, she felt stuck and hopeless. But her story didn’t end there. Her troubled past did not rob her of a beautiful future.
So even if we find our today littered with failures, shortcomings, or shattered dreams, let us each be reminded that our present condition does not define our future reality.
How do you think we can keep a proper balance between not denying our present while embracing what can be?
photo credit: ??? TORLEY ??? via photo pin cc
Our today’s are meant to be one step closer to our Lord than our yesterday’s and they are supposed to be the next step toward our tomorrows to live victoriously in Him!
So beautifully stated Beth!
I think it helps to take the time to actually think about and then write down our dreams, our goals, our hopes for the future. It can serve as a concrete reminder.
I love all the color images in your devotional today, Wanda. Beautiful!
Have a wonderful weekend and a fabulous fourth!
Thanks Pam, I hope you & your family enjoy a great weekend and safe & Happy 4th of July. Hard to believe another month is about to me swept away. I agree that writing things down is helpful. Even the word tells us to write the vision so that we may run with it.
Good morning~ I have enjoyed reading your post today…and some of your past ones also. I have been behind lately! The first 2 sentences you wrote today kind of sum it up for me as of late…Is it possible to become too consumed with our present? Is it possible to only think about where we are today and forget that today doesn’t have to hold our tomorrows hostage? I am so glad I visited your blog today because yes…it is possible! I seem to be doing just that. Thank you for sharing this post today. It is exactly what I needed to hear. The Lord had been speaking to me about this very thing early this morning.
Blessings…Chelle
Good Morning Chelle, sounds like God is teaching us similar lessons. I love it when He confirms something He has been impressing upon my heart. It reassures me that I’m attuned to His voice. I pray that each of us hear and heed His instructions to realign our focus.
This is good food for thought! I like to claim a scripture promise over my life and the kids and grandkids. God bless you. Have a great weekend.
Good Morning Karen, proclaiming the word of God our the lives of our family is one of the best gifts we can give to one another. Hope your weekend is an enjoyable one.
a gazillion happy shivers to this!
yes, yes indeed.
well said, beautiful soul that you are.
and thank you for saying.
-Jennifer
Thank you Jennifer for the beautiful words of encouragement. Hope your week ahead is a blessed & productive.
Hope, there is always hope…to lift our soul’s wings!
Beautiful Wanda ;D
Thanks for the gentle reminder to re think our view~
Yep, every now and then we all need to change our perception. Have a great week Ella!
Blessings….
Sometimes we get caught up and miss the blessings lined within each hour of each day. I try to count my blessings even when they day doesn’t or isn’t shaping up the way i’d like. I have also learn to stop wishing on wishing wells to be this or that because the reality even if the situation were ideal i would be this or that i wished for/to be. So instead, i accept that i am that i am and i am, and i know what i know though i don’t know every thing, i know what i know. When i know better i will do better till then i live, i live, i rejoice, i sing, i am greatful and understand through it all i am blessed..
Peace…
Stay blessed.
Rhapsody
You’re absolutely correct Rhapsody we can fail to savor our current moment. To live fully in the present is a wonderful gift.
Wow! So powerful, Wanda. One thing I do is to remind myself that neither past nor present can separate me from my future because my future is completly secure through God’s faithfulness. Also, all through Scripture, we are told of God’s plans. We may not know the plans, but we know that He prepares us for the unknown. I can live in the present without denying the future by keeping my faith active and my hope alive, and these verses have helped me (especially on dark days):
If we are faithless, He remains faithful— for He cannot deny himself. – 2 Timothy 2:13
What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? – Romans 3:3
I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39
LaVonne, thank you for those verses you shared. The passage from 2 Timothy has been one that really made an impression upon me. I also like Psalm 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.