Where Are You Living?

 Are You Living In The Past?
 
I have made my share of mistakes, and if I dwell on them their weight can pull me down into a quagmire. An accusing voice may say, “What were you thinking?”
 
Or my thoughts can do a 360 and I find myself longing for a simpler time, a slower pace, the “Good Old Days” of yesteryears. I have forgotten my struggles and have enriched the fond memories. Wasn’t I happier then?
 
As the Israelites trudged across a dry and dusty land, they began to grumble and complain. They wished to go back to Egypt, where they had been slaves. They forgot about their harsh taskmasters raising their quota of bricks while requiring they gather their own straw. Instead, they remembered eating varieties of fruit, vegetables, fish, and breads. In the wilderness they ate a boring diet of manna day after day. They asked, “Did the Lord bring us out here to die? Didn’t we have a better life in Egypt?”
 
Or, Are You Living In The Future?
 
Sometimes I look ahead, try to plan for whatever may lie around the next corner, or a distant corner. Sounds like the logical and smart thing to do, but I can get tangled up in imaging a possible event. What will I say? How will others respond? My fears and anxieties about upcoming situations can overwhelm me. Can’t I plan enough to be prepared, but give up my compulsion to control when God is the one in charge, not me?
 
When those same Israelites stood on the cusp of entering the Promised Land, they balked. How could they conquer giants, after all? How could they overcome armies much greater in number? Surely they would all die. Because they didn’t trust God to protect them, they wandered in the wilderness for forty years until that unbelieving generation passed away.
 
Unless I can surrender myself, my past guilt or yearnings, and my future fears, and come humbly to the Lord now, today, moment by moment, with thanksgiving, I will never have peace. The Lord is with me now. He lives within me now. He knows what lies ahead and whatever it is, He is there too. I don’t need to worry.
 
And the past mistakes I’ve made? He has that covered. My sins have been forgiven and tossed into the sea. He remembers them no more. So why do I keep bringing them up?
 
Talk to the Lord today. Tell Him what is on your heart. Thank Him for your past and present blessings. And ask Him to fill you to the brim with His everlasting love and peace. Come into His presence today.
 
A favorite verse: Zephaniah 3:17
 
The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.—NKJV 
​
Share a favorite verse that has brought you comfort.