THE NOW
The Now
Exercise your muscles of Thanksgiving.
Strengthening the inner faculties of thanksgiving within you on a daily basis is essential to your success of meditation and peace.
Philippians 4:6 ESV
[6] do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. [7] And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
A lot of us, including myself, have utilized our thoughts for future thinking and hoping than filling our mind with thoughts of gratification for… The Now.
In other words, we overlook The Now and frustrate ourselves because what we want in our future is not physically in our now.
This morning, in my very short alone time with the Lord, I literally set my mind on just being thankful for the things I have…. Right. Now.
My recent injuries made me grateful for the simple functionality of the other body parts that weren’t injured.
As I started, the list continued to grow.
I got stirred up and started strutting in circles around the room because, Hallelujah!
How could you not?!
Genuine thanksgiving is packed with divine voltage and vitality that energizes you and empowers you to move in life with joy.
I reckon that thanksgiving is a part of the immune system of the body of Christ. With thanksgiving, you become immune to the stresses of life. It helps you focus on things that matter and it keeps you open to hearing God and His leading.
Not long after my “secret place strut” I got that check in my Spirit that my alone time was complete and the meditation that was cultivated in that moment could be carried with me throughout the rest of my day.
That check in my Spirit is God saying to me,
“You hit the bull’s-eye! That’s the message I have for you today. I want you to focus on Thanksgiving today, that’s your daily bread, son.
Carry it with you, chew on it, implement it within your daily routine and environment throughout the rest of your entire day.”
Hallelujah!
Don’t make the mistake that I‘ve made in the past in allowing the distractions of tomorrow clutter my alone time with the Lord today.
I love the words of Jesus here:
Matthew 6:34 MSG
“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
The Holy Spirit just quickened me as I read this verse. He said,
“Sometimes people’s “tomorrow” is just hours away from them. I’ll take care of that too.”
He showed me that some people reading this are thinking in their heart,
“I’m not worried about tomorrow. I’m just trying to get through today!”
But consider this, God’s goodness is not limited to a 24 hour day. He’s good seconds from now, just as good as He is days from now just as good as He is tomorrow!
Hebrews 13:8 AMP
Jesus Christ is [eternally changeless, always] the same yesterday and today and forever.
Do you believe it? Will you receive it?
Don’t complicate what the Lord simplified.
Don’t sweat for what he bled for.
Be thankful. He’s good.
I love you family!