Life passes us by in a flash, and if we’re not careful, we can miss what God is doing right here, and right now. God wants to work in your life today.
As the pace of our world continues to accelerate, it can be difficult for us to live in the present. Life passes us by in a flash, and if we’re not careful, we can miss what God is doing right here, and right now. God wants to work in your life today. Let’s explore this truth as we spend time in God’s presence.
Isaiah 43:18–19 ESV
When I pastored a church, I was meeting with our new worship leader to plan the upcoming Sunday service. When we finished, I told him I wanted to sketch out plans for the next few Sundays as well. This is how I like to operate in most of my life: create a detailed plan and check off tasks one by one.
But our worship leader smiled at my request that day and said something I’ve never forgotten: “All of God there is, is in this moment.”
In this first week of the new year, let’s pause to consider that it is indeed a “new” year and that this year will be unlike any that has gone before. In fact, today is unlike any other as well. It is the only day like it that will ever exist again.
We need to make plans, as Jesus reminded us in Luke 14:28. But if we live in the past or the future, we risk missing God’s presence in the present.
After all, he is the Great “I Am,” not the “I Was” or the “I Will Be,” as he says in Exodus 3:14. His word is clear in Psalm 118:24: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (emphasis added).
This is why today’s verse, Isaiah 43:18, urges us to “remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.” We should learn from the past, but we are not to live there. Rather, God assures us, “I am doing a new thing.” In this new day, he will “make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” But we must choose to live in the present and follow him into this new way by faith.
We see the importance of this in every area of our lives.
-In our salvation: 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” We have only today to prepare for eternity.
-In our worship: “Sing to the Lord a new song” exhorts Isaiah 42:10. Yesterday’s worship is not sufficient for today.
-In prayer: You are probably familiar with the Lord’s Prayer. In Matthew 6:11, Jesus prays “Give us this day our daily bread” (emphasis added). God invites us to pray for the present, not just for the past or future.
-In faith: Jesus says, in Matthew 6:34, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” As Dale Carnegie noted, “Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.”
Walking with God means being in his will today. Giving God our year means giving him our day. In her book The Writing Life, Annie Dillard was right: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
Have you fully surrendered this day to your Lord? Will you give him permission to change your plans? Those who experience God most fully are those who follow him most unconditionally.
Some of the best advice I’ve ever received came from a wise mentor who advised me: “Stay faithful to the last word you heard from God and open to the next.”
today’s devotional is written by Jim Denison
1. Meditate on the fact that God is “doing a new thing” in your life today.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23).
2. Ask him to help you trust in the future he has prepared for you.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).
3. Ask God to show you what plans he has for you today. Trust that he will lead you where you need to go.
“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
I often hear people ask God to “be with them.” Although I understand the sentiment, this is a prayer we never actually need to pray. In Matthew 28:20 Jesus promised us, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” But it can be easy to feel as though the Lord has somehow gone missing. Oftentimes this is because we are having difficulty sensing his presence. Instead of feeling the need to ask the Lord to be present with you, try asking him to make you ever more aware of his presence.
If you know someone who is fearful for the future, you can invite them to trust in the promise from God in Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Together, let’s trust in him for the “new thing” he is doing in our world.
As you go throughout your day, let the Lord lead you to a place you’ve never been.
Let him use you to serve someone in a way you never have.
Let’s not miss out on the incredible thing God wants to do in us and through us today.
Extended reading: Hebrews 11
Let’s not miss out on the incredible thing God wants to do in us and through us today.
