The Present
By Joel Raygor
Ephesians 5:15-16
So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
We aren't even to the opening of the fall deer season and I'm already thinking about my next spring turkey tour. Next spring I'll probably find myself thinking about the next deer season. I don't know about you, but I always seem to find myself thinking about what's next. I know it's wise to think ahead and it's a good habit to plan for tomorrow, but when we get so focused on tomorrow that we don't see today, then we need to correct our thinking.
Psalm 118:24 "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Other scriptures tell us that every day is a gift from God. While no verse uses the exact phrase "every day is a gift from God," several scriptures describe each day as God's creation, with new mercies, and as a good gift from above. If you gave someone a gift and they didn't acknowledge it or even say thank you, what would that be saying?
I just heard this quote: People wait all day for 5:00pm, all week for Friday, all winter for summer, all youth for adulthood, and all life for happiness. When we are always looking ahead for that next exact right moment, we are missing out on the present. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present.
Lamentations 3:22-23, "His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning."
Today's prayer: "Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of this new day and for the grace that meets us fresh every morning. We come to You with grateful hearts, amazed that You have given us today. Forgive us when we don't appreciate Your gift and give us the vision to see all the blessings around us and to live in the present. Amen."
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