Have you ever had dinner and it’s one of your favorite meals (Mexican street tacos, pad thai, chicken shawarma, a good burger, smoked salmon, etc…)? You get your plate full of whatever it is that causes you to salivate most as you are reading this sentence, you sit down and eat. Good things are to be enjoyed. You take your time appreciating one tasty bite after another, your taste buds go on a flavorful roller coaster, until the plate is finished. I personally have the tendency to eat and I forget to enjoy the wonderful experience right in front of me. Not only is this the case with food but it can also be for life, and maybe you can relate too. Sometimes the season of life we are in just feels like fuel getting us from one point to another and we lose the joy of the journey. Fully savoring our life is a practice; to embrace it we have to be present, and understand that where we are currently is purposeful.
To fully savor our life we have to be present. So often I find myself thinking about the future and what that may entail. It's exciting to see how the Lord might use me to accomplish His awesome plan, and I get so happy when I get glimpses of what that might look like. But sometimes I get so focused on “the doing," that I forget to “be," and take in everything in the moment that I am in currently. A phrase that is used a lot in FCA is “Wherever you are, be all there,” and it fits so perfectly. Yes, God has a plan. Yes, there is something in store for us in the future, but there is also the current moment. When we are present in the moment we’re able to hear what the Lord is saying. We can spend so much time dreaming about the future that we miss out on today. The future is often out of grasp and unattainable, but the present is right where we are.
In order to embrace exactly where we are, we must believe God has us there for a reason. David was anointed as God’s next king over Israel, but that didn’t change his circumstances much. Jesse, David’s dad, still had sheep to be tended to. David remained in position where he was in the fields watching the sheep. I imagine God was using that time in between his anointing and his crowning to further edify David and form him into the leader, worshiper, and king he was meant to be. The in-between seasons of life is a place for our obedience to further refine us. This speaks to me a lot and reminds me that God is at work in me; all I have to do is be faithful with my obedience and worship him with my whole heart.
Today is a gift, and tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, or in our control (James 4:13-17). There is so much to be thankful for; it’s important that we bring our hearts and minds to a state of gratitude. When our hearts are in a state of appreciation for what God has done, we can further appreciate what God is doing. “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”1 Chronicles 16:34 NIV
Savoring today is an active appreciation for the current moment God has placed us in.
Blessings,
- Isaiah
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