I’m a hand ringer at heart. Trained as an engineer, I was taught to look for what can go wrong under the most extreme circumstances.
So, worry comes natural to me. I endlessly parse past failures to prevent repeating them in the future. I anticipate the future by imagining every possible eventuality so that I can prepare accordingly.
Talk about playing God.
The trouble is, while I’m diligently doing all the above, I miss the “Now.” I walk right past the proverbial flowers without even noticing their glorious smell.
Precious hours are consumed habitually projecting my mind backward and forward in time in needless worry.
Worse yet, I end up missing God as well. Jesus cautioned us in Matthew 6:34, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself.”
While we are handwringing our way through the day, God is patiently waiting for us to transfer our cares to Him. As noted in 1 Peter 5:7, “… having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you.”
God dwells in eternity, a state that has been described as the “Eternal Now.” While we humans experience life sequentially, God sees everything that has ever occurred, or will ever occur, happening in one eternal instant, all the time.
Wrap your temporal earth-bound mind around that one for a moment!
So, on what basis can Christians confidently seize the present with both hands, while concurrently leaving the past truly behind and entrusting the future to God?
It’s all about the Gospel of Christ, based upon the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
God has already provided the basis for our confidently living an authentically Christ-centered life that brings peace and rest amid a world gone mad.
Our Past Reimagined
The Cross was the greatest “switcheroo” ever accomplished in cosmic history.
Christ, God’s Son, becomes a man so that He can die in our place and remove our sins as an impediment to fellowship between God and man — all with the unintentional help of His enemies.
We were unable to save ourselves because we were part of the problem. Help had to come from the outside. Jesus intervened and died for our sins, past, present and future.
Consequently, believers never again needed to yield to accusing voices raising their sins as a present issue with God. No more ruminating endlessly over the consequences of our sins — the consequences had fallen on Christ so that we could be spared.
Our Present Reinvigorated
Having poured out His life for mankind on the Cross, Jesus rested in the Tomb awaiting His resurrection. This speaks of what our posture should be considering Christ’s completed redemptive work.
As written in Hebrews 4:8-10: “Consequently, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.”
Our greatest modern-day enemy of rest is chronic busyness. I wrote in my book, My Origin My Destiny, “The Christian church in America, and that of other so-called ‘advanced’ countries around the world, has been slowly cooking in a mesmerizing stew of its own making. Material comforts, terminal busyness, ceaseless entertainment, and the relentless accumulation of ‘stuff’ have exacted a devastating toll on spiritual life. Although many people identify themselves as ‘religious’ in surveys, they live their lives as practical atheists.”
Our Future Revolutionized
On the third day after His crucifixion, Jesus returned from the dead, alive forevermore.
This speaks to us about the coming resurrection of all believers. We will mysteriously, miraculously participate in Christ’s resurrection in due course, so meantime we rest in His word and His promises knowing our deliverance is nigh.
How About You?
My old Bible teacher used to say, “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” Here is a home-spun sonnet to ponder:
Living In the “Now”
It’s no use crying over spilt milk,
The past is a dream, nevermore to return.
Those haunting voices recalling decisions so rash,
Only serve to accuse, and overwhelm with regrets.
The future is likewise a gossamer dream,
Nothing more than a cloud, making no guarantees.
Tomorrow isn’t promised, so give it no thought,
Who knows if your future even exists?
So, take hold of your “Now,” and rest in its arms,
Live in the present, it’s the only safe bet.
Don’t miss what it offers, with worries so wasteful,
In quietness and rest find your home.
How much of your life goes by unobserved,
In pursuit of “success” so fleeting, so vaporous.
• • •
“… seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself.”
— Matthew 6:33-34