LIVE IN THE MOMENT

And God said unto Moses,
I AM THAT I AM:
and he said, Thus shalt
thou say unto the children
of Israel,
I AM hath sent me unto you.
Exodus 3:14

The title of this blog came to me recently through a casual comment someone made. In observing folks through recent years, I'm seeing we are a generation that either tends to look back pondering our history whether it was positive or negative, or much of our generation is living for the future.

There isn't a therapist on earth capable enough in their profession to tackle past issues of most of us. All of us have issues from our own histories back to childhood to the present that haven't been pleasant or encouraging. Then we see the ads on TV about the necessity of planning our futures...savings plans, insurance policies of every kind, retirement financial planning and that doesn't include our calendars. Our calendars remind us of coming events, many necessary to see to such as medical and dental appointments, holiday events, birthdays, etc.

In it all whether past events or future ones, what gets lost for most of us is “right now”...”this moment.” In the book of Exodus when God placed His call on Moses' life, Moses was concerned regarding how he would approach Pharaoh, for who was he to relay any message to him. God reminded Moses that he wasn't going on his own standing, but with the backing of God Himself. God could have stated who He was in any way such as we see in Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” That is valuable information for us that gives us a real sense of security as we view the consistency and constancy of Jesus.

In that moment, for Moses, he needed to hear from God that He is I AM. God was going to be for Moses his I AM every moment he was about to face. God wasn't Moses' I WAS or I WILL BE. God promised to be in every moment of every day Moses had to face God's purpose for his time.

Many of our days can be very routine. We may know what most days hold for us. We can get lost in routine to the point our moments become blurred and even at times wasted. In my young adulthood, I thought like most that I had a whole entire life before me. I had no accurate time line to judge by, but it certainly seemed to me that I had years and years to live. I sit at this time in my life and know I don't have years and years to live like I've already been blessed with. No matter what time I have (and no one knows that for themselves), what am I doing with my moments? I can even now work myself to death and not consider my moments.

Moments are of value. A moment is defined as a very brief period of time. Some go so far as to define a moment as being 90 seconds or less. Despite the definitions we know it's a brief period of time. First Corinthians 15:52 reminds us that when Jesus returns for us, it will happen “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” I read several years ago, someone in a lab at General Electric tried to time what the twinkling of an eye would be. It was so finite, it couldn't be clocked. Whether a moment or a twinkle, it's VERY brief as time goes...so is life.

How are we to live in the moment of our lives? It begins in the thinking process. We allow our minds to be cluttered with concerns and worries that God will take care of in His time. Our worry and fretting isn't going to solve anything, but will destroy precious moments we could be using to be a blessing in life. De-cluttering can only happen as we pray, giving all to God and then refreshing our minds with the preciousness of God's Word. I know folks, much too young, who live in misery spending moments looking at the past and living their days in the doldrums. God's will for our moments doesn't involve either of those things.

When Jesus does come, if it's in our day or He chooses to come just for me, I want to be found enjoying my moments. Maybe those moments will involve serving others or in healthy activity that is good for me. I want Him to be pleased that I've not wasted those precious moments He's given me.

Dear Father, my I AM...help me to live to the fullest in the moments You give me. I know You have my future in Your hands and You will direct those moments. Increase my faith that as I'm in You, all is well. I love you. In Jesus' precious name...Amen