Stuck in the Future

Since we talked about the past yesterday. We might as well go to the other end of the spectrum today, the future. Both of these places are full of traps, quicksand and sometimes even places of no return.

I would have to say I divided my time between my past and future equally. When I was living in the past my time was spent regretting, feeling guilty and beating myself up mentally and emotionally. When I traveled over to the future all I could do was worry and feel fearful. My most common remark was: What if? or What will I do? The time I spent in the present was minimal. So small I don't have a lot of recollection of things that happened, even though I was there.

Yeah, my body was there, but not me, the real me. You see I could not be in two places at one time. Nobody can. You can't be in the past and present. You can't be in the future and be present either. What a terrible tragedy! What a great loss! A loss so great there is no fixing it. No way to bring it back. No do over.

Now this may all sound foreign to you. Others may know exactly what I am talking about. Some may just now see what they have been doing with their life. You see when we start doing something over and over it becomes a habit. Doing that habit over and over becomes the way we do life. That life we do over and over becomes who we are. By this time, the who we are is what we accept as our normal. We don't question our self. We just go on living like we have always lived.

If that living is the fact that we worry about the future, we just accept it. We don't think: "Hey, I could not worry today". We are stuck. Stuck in that place which has grown comfortable,even if we don't like it. You know that worry thing. I used to do it all the time because somehow I equated worry with, I care. If I don't worry, that means I don't care about it. Now is that a lie or what? Worry doesn't keep bad things at bay. Worry doesn't change anything or help the future. When I get stuck here, I am stuck in a big fat lie. And you know who the father of lies is, don't you? That's right, the devil. He has trapped me. He has poured out the quicksand and I waded in lock, stock and barrel. So I am so stuck. Worrying  about the future, one hour from now, tomorrow, next week or next year. I'm over there, not here, in the present.

In addition to being stuck in the" I have to worry about the future lie", the devil has just stolen my now. You know Jesus told us the character traits of the devil. He says: He comes to kill, steal and destroy. But I (Jesus) have come to give you life more abundant (John 10:10).Eternal life is what  Jesus gives us. Now that is a future if I ever heard one. Eternity is a long time. Jesus also says: I am the same yesterday, today and forever. Sounds to me like Jesus has the future covered for me and you. If we have Him, He has everything else. 

Since grace and truth came through Jesus Christ ( John 1:17), we must apply His grace to our future, our everything. Gods grace is sufficient for our everywhere, past or future. How about some grace for your future today?