Back from the future?
7 Jun 2007
I’m graduating college in December so I have started to figure my life out. I can’t even begin to say how much it stresses me out to even begin thinking about it. However, in all of the stress and discussions about my life and future career, I realized something. What happened to living in the moment? Is today really that bad? (Don’t make me answer that!)
But seriously, imagine the possibilities of living for today, and today only! Instead of thinking about what will happen in the future in regards to your decisions today, why not take the opportunities that are given to you and run with it as long and as far as you can. No one knows what will happen in the future, so basing your life off of hypothetical outcomes causes more problems than it will theoretically avoid.
The biggest obstacle that thinking in the future is that I (and I’m sure other people as well) over-think every situation. I have been praying and been determined to live my life on the edge of my seat, ready to have God take me wherever He wants me. Yeah… the catch is that it only works if you actually let God do so and not talk yourself out of it. God doesn’t work logically. He doesn’t work like we think He will, and definitely not when we think He will. So with that being said, how could we ever think about God and how He works in a logical way?
God knows the desires of our hearts and will not make us do anything that we are completely resistant to. For example, I want to eventually live in Denver, much closer to my family, but why do I feel the need for it to be now or in a few months? I may eventually be there, but why not travel the world first? What if God is calling me somewhere and I have talked myself out of it? God can’t work with us or show us His will if we think it is illogical or we are unsure of the outcome and as a result do not follow where we are being guided. If God is calling us somewhere or to do something, He has promised to take care of us. He wouldn’t ask us to do something and let us fall on our faces. But only when we live in the now, letting God work in us and through us every day, will we be able to fully live in God’s glorious will.
But the questions remain…
Is living in the today, without much consideration of the future, even possible?
If so, how?
Can people really function in life if they live with the constant possibility of having to drop everything and go?
11 comments
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Comment by goodfornowt
9.15 am on 7 Jun 2007
What do you make of Matthew 6.34?
“Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.”
Comment by Katie
9.45 pm on 7 Jun 2007
This verse is the main motivator for this post. Worrying doesn’t solve anything– it just makes you lose sleep, feel anxious constantly, and stresses you out! I’m definitely talking to myself when I say this because I have a very difficult time letting today worry about today and tomorrow worry about tomorrow. That’s why it’s important to give those worries and stresses over to God cuz He’s the only one who knows what’s really going on!
What are other people’s thoughts?
Comment by Paul
5.03 pm on 7 Jun 2007
It’s an interesting set of thoughts, thanks katie!
how much of living in the now actually involves the past that has got us here – or own and that of the tradition we are part of?
How much of what we do now is also part of a future hope, passion, call? How much do we live out our eschatology, with God’s future breaking into our present?
How present are we to that presence?
Comment by Katie
1.37 am on 9 Jun 2007
Paul–
Very interesting question about the influence of our past on our present and future. Can we ignore our past or should we use it to make different/better decisions? Will God work the same way as He did in our past?
And the question about our future penetrating our present– that is one of the biggest questions I have in regards to my future. When will what I feel God calling me to become my present state? It feels like a something that is just “out there” and will happen eventually (meaning never). How can we accept that we are in our future? That we are where God has been calling us all along?
Comment by Paul
7.00 am on 14 Jun 2007
Thanks Katie – i find myself thinking, as i read your words, of Jesus telling people that the kingdom of God was at hand, was so near they could reach out and touch it, that it was the very air they were surrounded by… maybe receiving that is as simple as breathing in, accepting that where we are now is part of God’s kingdom?
What does that mean to seek first God’s kingdom? To commit my future to living somewhere that God wants me too? In a job God wants? committed to a place, people? Most of the time i’d rather escape my reality and face it – i think it’s easy to build my wish fulfillment into my prayer life but is that better than not praying at all and maybe trusting that God will work even through my flawed prayers?
That maybe i can do something that is good, but is at the expense of something better or God’s best?
Comment by Lyn
8.27 pm on 7 Jun 2007
I’ve really enjoyed reading your post Katie.
Is living in the today, without much consideration of the future, even possible?
I think the answer to this question is both yes and no. I may get myself inot trouble here, but I think it depends on how much you want God to lead you. I’ve come across Christians in my life who listen to God and allow him to lead. I’ve come across others who have their own dreams, and they don’t seem too bothered about whether that is where God wants them or not, they don’t seem to really seek his will as much for their lives. I don’t have a life plan for my life, that’s up to God, however I do plan into what’s going on in the next week, next month etc. For our family, we seek God and try to hear what he is saying to us. I’ve dropped many of “my” plans in the past for His, and from my personal journey, then it’s been worth it. I wouldn’t have it any other way. God has taken me on great adventures. There have been hard and difficult times, but there has also been much joy and blessing.
Can people really function in life if they live with the constant possibility of having to drop everything and go?
Yes, they can! God’s moved us around a bit, but it’s not an overnight thing. Yes, we’ve left friends behind, but we keep in touch, and when we’ve moved on, we’ve met new friends. I guess we just kind of get on with life. You have to live, you can’t not do anything in case God moves you on. You’re young, allow him to lead you and be an open vessel. You may not end up following your plan and dreams, but you’ll have a real blast with God and where he takes you. Email me if you want to talk more!
Comment by Katie
1.50 am on 9 Jun 2007
Lyn– thanks for your great insight! It really is true about how much we’re willing to let God lead us! I am an expert at telling God what I’m doing or pretending I’m asking for his guidance, but really using God as an excuse to do what I want. Once we let God actually guide us, and we lay down our pride, our lives will never be the same!
And thanks for your encouragement!!
Comment by Helen
5.03 pm on 9 Jun 2007
Hi Katie,
I would consider this question about Jesus’s comments: was his point “Don’t worry” or “Don’t plan“?
Comment by Katie
8.42 pm on 11 Jun 2007
Helen–
Thanks for your question. It really made me think! My response to it would have to be that I think Jesus meant both. I know he definitely meant not to worry, because God has everything under control.
In regards to planning, I think Jesus could be talking about that too. The birds don’t plan for dinner or thier meals the next day, but God takes care of them each day so they have food. With that, though, I do believe we definitely need to plan, but we should plan our lives in pencil. Yes, we have to plan out our days, and even our weeks and months, but they should be plans that can be broken if God calls to you something else. There’s some saying about when you tell God your plans, He laughs. In part, I think that is true. We have no idea what lies around the next corner and/or what God could want us to do tomorrow or next month or next year. Because we have no way of knowing, we must live our lives to the fullest each day and leave room in our planning for God to completely change those plans!
Comment by Katie
8.51 pm on 11 Jun 2007
What does everyone else think? Any other ideas?
Comment by Paul
7.04 am on 14 Jun 2007
i dislike planning but debs is v good at it – so i think between us we can still be spontaneous but we can also plan how we are spending our time, money etc so we know and can be purposeful.
It makes me think again of why the best of God for us is to do our faith as part of a community, so we can learn, supporty, helo each other – i can learn good Godly planning from some folk and maybe others learn not to worry so much from me? :)
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