The time to be present.
One of my favorite passages in Scripture, Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 reads:
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
Preparing for the World Race, I often find myself pondering on what is to come: the future. While there seems to be nothing wrong with that, I notice that it takes away from what is currently taking place: the present. Yes, I am beyond excited for this opportunity God has placed before me. Yes, I anticipate spending an abundant amount of time in preparation (preparing spiritually, physically, prayerfully, raising funds, packing, vaccinations, etc..), but as I read this chapter in Ecclesiastes, I am challenged with an overall mindset to “be present” in the present – for there is a time for everything under heaven.
But what does it really mean to “be present”? If someone is physically there in flesh, does that not mean that they’re present? Or is there more to it?
Yes, there is definitely more to it.
Being present is being actively engaged in what is going on at that specific moment in time. Being present means you are absorbing all that you are experiencing in the now. Being present means that you are living your life – each breath – God has graciously given you to it’s fullest capacity.
What does it mean to live to the fullest? For me, it means every day that the sun rises and I wake up, I put on the full armor of God and die to self daily, allowing Christ to live in and through me, no matter what task is at hand and no matter what season of life I am in. For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Matthew 6:34 reads:
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
If I were to constantly worry of what tomorrow, next month, or next year will bring, then I would miss out on the things of today, the things that are right in front of me, the things that God is trying to show and reveal to me presently.
This is what I am currently challenging myself to live by each and every day while on earth. To live for today. To be present for today.
In every season and time, whether of rain or shine, of sorrow or joy, it is always the time to be present.
SDG
