Our annual practice has been to make new year’s resolutions. As we face the challenges of 2022, we may be anxious about the prospects before us.
I think that is a normal response. However, we cannot live in fear for “God has not given us a spirit of fear” (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV).
Rather than make resolutions which we may not keep, perhaps we should resolve to live in the moment. That sounds easy enough to do, but for many of us, it is a struggle to accomplish.
Some are caught in the grip of the past. The past can enslave. Life experiences can cause you to become so fixated on what has happened in the past that you cannot find the strength to see what God is doing in your life in the present.
Guilty feelings over failures and disappointments in life are a product of our sinful nature and the fact that we live in a fallen world. Seeking forgiveness from God and living a forgiving life can liberate us from the terrible effects of such guilt and shame.
Living in the future can cause you to live in exile from the present too. We all look to the future with anticipation of something new and good happening. Planning for it is wise. Beware! Being enslaved by “what’s next” can rob you of the joys of the present moment.
I must confess that I have done both. I have let past experiences prevent me from being in the moment. I have allowed being so future-focused to eclipse living in the moment. Therefore, with the strength that only our Lord can give (Philippians 4:13), I am going to seek to live in each moment God gives me in 2022.
Living in the present is to be at home with Christ. With His power, we can enter the present knowing that this moment can be just as significant as any past or future experience.
A past always precedes us, and the promise of a future is ever before us. Yet the present is our home. This is the moment we can most redemptively meet Christ.
Each and every day of 2022, we should seize the moment. We should see each day like the Psalmist: “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24, NKJV).
Rick Lance
Col. 1:18
