The mud clings to my sandals and feet like chewed gum.
The sun beats down, scorching my skin. Sweat trickles down the side of my face. My backpack feels full of bricks.
Yet, in this uncomfortable moment, the green of the trees seems more vivid, the breeze feels cooler, and the touch of my husband’s hand — reaching out to steady me through another mud hole — is more tender than ever.
Each step brings us closer to our destination, but until we arrive…
I savor the journey.
I find joy in the here and now.
I relish the adventure.
“I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life…” -Thoreau
This hasn’t always been my perspective. So much of my life has felt like a countdown to the next event — vacations, holidays, milestones.
I lived by the dates and deadlines — always focused on the next thing. Meanwhile, I trudged through daily life, often wishing I was somewhere else.
Have you ever felt this way?
If we’re not careful, we will look back and realize life slipped by -unnoticed- except for the few bright moments when we truly lived in the present.
Put your hope in the Lord, travel steadily along his path, and he will honor you by giving you the land. — Psalm 37:34 (NLT)
For years, I focused on receiving some future gift from God. Like the people of Israel — like Abram — I wandered in my wilderness waiting for God to supernaturally open the doors of heaven and rain down the promised blessing.
I longed a dramatic moment of arrival, a destination I could point to and say, “This is it! I’ve arrived!”
But, eventually, I began to wonder:
Had I missed God’s plan?
I obeyed.
I prayed.
But, my focus was off.
My hope rested in the reward, instead of the Lord. Psalm 37:34 instructs me to place my hope in the Lord.
I must focus on who he is, not what he gives.
Abram struggled with this too.
At the first sign of famine, he turned to Egypt for salvation instead of trusting the Lord. God promised him descendants and he had no heir. Instead of waiting, Abram took matters into his own hands.
Each time God made a promise, the odds seemed impossible. Even when God asked him to place his long-awaited son on the altar of sacrifice, after all the years of watching God provide, Abram still wept as he raised the knife. And yet, in that moment, he chose obedience.
And God provided.
Abram traveled without knowing. He obeyed, and he failed. He wandered, and he wondered. But, each moment taught him to trust God more.
Each step became a testimony of God’s faithfulness.
We, too, must learn to obey God in each moment. We can’t live our lives chasing down the next big experience, as though, happiness or fulfillment lies just around the corner.
“The future-oriented obsession of today’s culture pushes our attention and our good works to the future, to what we are going to do later. We must ‘live in the hour that has come…receptive to God, who is present now and has something he will do now.’” — Gene Edward Veith, God at Work
God is present now.
He is working in your life now.
Yes, the moment may feel uncomfortable, like trudging through thick, sticky mud. But look for the lesson.
There is power in the ordinary.
There is beauty in the mundane.
God is weaving everything together for good — even this moment.