Living In The Moment...

Living in the moment…

I’ve been thinking about that phrase a lot today.

Shouldn’t it be a positive thing? Shouldn’t it make us feel happy, carefree, content, loved, wanted, fulfilled….and on and on…

The world tells us to live there – in the moment. Say what you want to say, do what you want to do. If it makes you happy then by all means go there. If it feels good, don’t stop. Just do what seems like the most fun and don't over think things. Be spontaneous. Go with the flow. It doesn’t really seem to work the way they make it sound. Sure in the moment it may all seem perfectly acceptable, feel good, make you happy. But what about after? What happens when that moment has past? What are you left with then?

I’m not sure what your experiences have been, but my in the moment experiences have often left me feeling rather unhappy, unloved, unwanted, and unfulfilled. All leading me to feel that this in the moment philosophy is rather flawed.

I want to live my life in some other place. Somewhere less impulsive and more grounded. In a place where my feelings, wants, and needs can't ever override what is ultimately best for me and those I care about. A place where joy is never sacrificed for a moment of happiness. A place where best wins over good. A place where my actions line up with God’s plan to glorify Himself through my life. A place where He rules and I do not.

My perspective needs to change.

I need to live in ETERNITY.

I need to view my choices through the lens of ETERNITY.

This life we live is a moment, a blip on the radar of The Almighty who stands outside the restraints of time in a place called ETERNITY with a perspective that we could never, will never, fully comprehend as long as we are held fast in the grip of TIME. From this place He is composing the most wonderful story. A story where He is declared over and over as I AM, where His glory shines forever. A story that He has graciously allowed us to be a part of. A story where our choices matter – regardless of how insignificant those choices may seem in the moment.

And the enemy wants us to believe that our choices in this blip of time couldn’t possibly have that great of an impact on our own lives and much less ETERNITY….but ETERNITY is coming…in a moment we will be with HIM – GOD ALMIGHTY. And while I want to focus on the part where I am made like Him and He wipes all my tears away, there is also going to be a time when I give an account for how I lived. I feel like in that moment the excuse of “Oh, I was just living in the moment, God!” is going to drop like a small smooth pebble thrown into vast raging ocean...meaningless...lost...pointless...

I think He cares – that is, I think God cares about these little moments in our lives. Those small decisions where it may not be a matter of right and wrong but best over good. I think it matters to Him. I think He desires that we, in those moments, press pause and take a look through the window of ETERNITY and contemplate the impact of the decision.  Those seemingly harmless decisions matter. They are just as important as those big moments, when temptation stares us in the face and we have to make the choice between God's way or sin. I think God cares about those decisions, however big or small, all just the same. It all counts. And there is a joy indescribable when we make the choice to live our lives in light of ETERNITY. It is there we feel loved, carefree, content, wanted, and fulfilled because it is there that we find I AM. 

So just in case I forget to remember, I’m writing it here….I’m living my life in light of ETERNITY.

Worship

Worship is a weapon. Did you know that? I hadn’t really seen it as such until recently. 

The choice to worship in the midst of our struggle is a weapon - a tool to be used as we wait on the Lord to move, to act, and to work miracles on our behalf. It is what to do when we do not know what to do.

Those times in life are dark, they are painful, they are lonely. When anxiety settles in, when fear overwhelms, when loneliness becomes unbearable - our praise is a weapon. It is a lifeline when all around us is falling apart.

It is like a light in the dark. Our praise in the darkness of our lives, in the waiting, in the struggle, in the loneliness, in the sorrow, in the suffering - our praise is like lighting a candle in a dark, damp, cold cave. It is a reminder that God Almighty is greater than whatever it is we are suffering through. 

He is greater than our anxiety, greater than our stress, greater than our loss, greater than our loneliness, greater than our pain, greater than our struggle. He is I AM. And at the very mention of Jesus' Name the enemy must flee. And he does. Scripture tells us that even the demons tremble at the name of Jesus. Even the demons know who God is. So our worship is a weapon.

Worship.

It’s like an invitation saying “God, I know this place You have me in is dark and lonely. And, honestly, I need a miracle if I’m ever going to get out of here. But You are I AM, so I’m going to worship You right here, right now. Because that’s what You deserve and that’s what my life is about – You.”

And then you worship. 

You whisper a hymn, a word, a song – and your eyes open wider and you know He is there. And suddenly, that crushing weight, that dark cloud - oh it’s still there - but suddenly your focus has shifted, your eyes have lifted, the atmosphere is changing. Like the flicker of a candle's flame illuminates a dark, cold, damp cave...you realize...

I AM.

Is.

Here.

And that miracle you’ve been begging God for, that one thing that needs to happen to get you out of this place – it hasn’t happened but a miracle has happened. Because you’ve survived. You made it through the night, the day, the week, the month. And the things you thought you just couldn’t go on and do you are doing. The miracle isn’t that God took away your suffering – the miracle is that He has sustained you through it.The miracle isn't that He has finally answered all your prayers just the way you wanted. It is that you've been hanging by a thread and He miraculously caught you. The miracle isn't the vanishing of suffering it is the sudden appearing of the Almighty God in a dark and terrible place. The miracle is that I AM is with you. I AM has sustained you. I AM has held you. I AM has waited with you. I AM has wiped your tears. I AM has held your hand through it all. 

That is the miracle.

But you don't realize it until you worship. You don't notice unless you worship. It isn't until your eyes are peeled away from the darkness around you that you notice He is there with you, waiting patiently with you, comforting, sustaining - being I AM for you. 

It is still dark. It is still lonely. The storm rages. The end isn't even in view. You still need a miracle to bring you out of this place - but while you are in this place you have a weapon - you have a duty - you have a purpose.

Worship.

Invite God in. Lean closer. Look up.

Worship is our weapon, it is our defense against all that comes to steal our joy. It is how we proclaim God as I AM and surrender.

Worship is a declaration, the war cry of God's people, that He is I AM. And it is I AM who has stretched out His mighty arms to us and offered His steadfast, enduring love to comfort and support us.

Our worship invites Him into the darkest places of our lives so that He can breathe His life into us and find hope again in Him!

"By day the Lord commands His steadfast love and at night His song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life...Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my Salvation and my God." 
Psalm 42:8 & 11

***this post was written after listening to a message by Louie Giglio titled, "I Lift My Hands," as well as the result of dealing with my own battles with anxiety, loss, and loneliness - through which the Holy Spirit has taught me to worship***