5. DON’T LET THE FUTURE ROB YOU OF NOW

THIS SERIES: CELEBRATE THE PRESENT

​There are ways of focusing on the future which can negatively affect the present.
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One is to focus on the future as the time when life will start, when things will be rosy, and we will be happy. This attitude can centre on big occasions: ‘when we leave university’, or ‘when we retire’, or the smaller stuff of life: ‘after we’ve finished decorating’, or ‘after Christmas is done and dusted’.

Be happy in the moment, that's enough.
Each moment is all we need, not more.
Mother Theresa

The problem with this perspective is that it writes off today and postpones living to a future date. Although it is good to dream, and also to make plans—with God—for the future, the danger comes when that dreaming becomes escapism, our bolt-hole from a mundane or difficult present. Learning to embrace now with faith and enthusiasm is key in our pursuit of maturity.

​To get the most out of the present, we have to be at peace with the future.

Another trap is to focus on the future with a fearful mind; to worry about future events—whether they will take place tomorrow or next year. Anxiety steals our rest today, and has an enormously negative effect on our physical and emotional health. Although many of us feel we cannot help worrying, it actually stems from unbelief, a lack of trust in the goodness of God.

And we can do something about that—faith is essentially a choice rather than an emotion. And the truth is, we can’t hold faith for today and unbelief for tomorrow at the same time. To get the most out of the present, we have to be at peace with the future.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,
​and all these things will be given to you as well.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.
[Matthew 6:33-34]

Not only does an unhealthy focus on the future rob us of happiness and productiveness in the present, but also it also effects how that future works out. The choices and decisions we make today provide the foundations for tomorrow. What we learn of ourselves, and God right now; the character development and experiences that this moment provides, are the building blocks towards the unique destiny God has planned for us. As I once read in a Christian magazine, 'One day you will live in the fruit of this moment.'

Now that's something to ponder...
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Any thoughts?

THIS WEEK’S RHYTHM OF GRACE

​​Time for a self-audit...

1. Have you been looking forward to a future date as the time when you will start 'living'?
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2. Do you need to deal with an area of unbelief which is causing you to worry over the future?

​3. Knowing that today’s choices have a profound effect on your future, what will you change about how you live today?

NEXT WEEK:
6. THE PURPOSE OF NOW
Seeing past the dull routine to the purposes of God...

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​[Photo credits: Christoph Krichenbauer (road); Nathan Dumleo (worried man);
​Jayne Harris (message in bottle); @ Unsplash, with thanks]