Prepared beforehand...

How much of my life do I waste on tomorrow?  Everything about our mindset has us trained to live and to strive for what is to come....we let ourselves dwell on the future:  hopes, dreams, questions, aspirations...I spend so much time yearning for tomorrow and what is to come that I lose the joy and the beauty of where I am right now.

Think about it:  so much of life is geared toward this.  Just make it to the weekend, to Christmas break, to payday, to the time when I've finally paid off my debt, to that job promotion I've been waiting on, to my house looking the way I want, to the jeans size I thought I would never get to...I am constantly living in a place in time that has not yet arrived.  So then, why do I give up so much working for it, desiring it, waiting for it...?

I'm not saying it's wrong to have a mindset that wisely looks ahead: stocking up on groceries, making sure there is some money in case of an emergency, working towards a new home...but what is wrong--sinful even--is to be consumed with that time, rather than enjoying a sense of peace and contentment.

If I truly believe that my God is sovreign, holy, and perfect, I have to believe that where He has me at right now is also perfect and good.  Every moment is indeed His perfect work in us, teaching us, molding us, shaping us, transforming us to be more of an image-bearer of His glory.  Paul says that "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:4).  The beauty of where I am at right now is that it is perfectly designed, molded by my Creator, with a sovreign purpose.  Because of that, no dream of tomorrow--no matter how good--could be better.

Lord, let me see the beauty of Your work in me, right where I am...today.  Don't let me be deceived into thinking that I must always be pressing toward the next thing.  Teach me joy and contentment with what You have for me in this moment, and may it serve to transform me into a greater image of Your glory.  Thank you, Father, for Your perfect work in today.