I think a lot. We all do. We wake up and think about what we have to do for today, what we are going to wear to work, coffee, breakfast, coffee, kids if you have them, spouse if you have one, social media, etc. But often we also think a lot about our future. We may serve in ministry and have a career, we work but are always thinking about what we can do next. We are in ministry but are thinking about the next event, next step, what if we did this what if it worked this way.
I’ve found recently that I wasn’t really living in the now, I was living in and for the “when”. When this happens, when I’m able to do full-time ministry THEN I’ll be able to do this (canceling out my job in the “right now”). What if I could write for a bigger blog community and help hundreds of people and speak to many people (canceling out my current blog). When I have X amount of teachers and team in children’s church then we can do XYZ (canceling out what we are doing now). When I finish Bible school I can move on to the next thing (canceling the time right now).
Yes, I think it’s important to plan for the future and yes I think we need to have an idea of where we are headed. But Jesus said in Matthew 6:31-34 “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Jesus tells us to stop worrying, don’t worry about what you’re going to eat or drink, don’t worry about what you’re going to wear or what the next step is. Seek Him first, His kingdom and His righteousness, do this and He will provide all we need.
This is something I’ve been thinking about for about a week or so. I’ve not yet had the words to write it out so I’ve been observing. I’ve tried to slow down and focus on today, this moment. I am a nurse and work in a doctors office, when I slowed down the opportunity opened up for me to pray with the parent of a patient, I also had opportunities to really talk with other patients. I’ve focused on the blog and the way it impacts me in addition to the others who read it. It’s reminding me of my desire and purpose of children’s ministry, impacting the children and my team today so that they have a foundation for their future. I also get stuck on “when I meet someone”, Jesus knows and He knows my heart (your heart), we need to seek Him first, He will be and add all we need.
Something that has stuck in my mind this week was posted by Well Watered Women CO. it’s “Word before World”. I will link their website HERE and I highly recommend checking them out, especially their posts on Word before World.
In the morning, before we open up social media and begin to see what everyone else is doing before we begin dealing with our day we need to focus on Jesus. We need to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness”. As we do that, as we read the Word He will supply, lead, guide, and take us places that we never could imagine.
My friend said last night “lay down your plans, your desires and get alone with God. Your plans may not be His plans, maybe that’s why it’s not working out.” In this fast-paced world we live in we can become so easily distracted from our purpose. We think we are doing the right things. This visual comes to mind. Think of a treadmill, you can spend 30 minutes on a treadmill running as fast as you possibly can, but in the end, you’re still in the exact same spot that you started. Sometimes, that’s how I feel it is when we don’t seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. We get distracted and busy with life, with thinking about our future, with our own plans but aren’t really doing anything productive.
We need to get alone with God. We need to seek Him above all else. We need to seek His plans for us today, in this moment, stop thinking about the plans for years in the future, how can you serve Him today? How can you be completely surrendered to Him today? As you do this, surrender to Him this day, He will lead and guide you.
“For I know the plans I have for you’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
He already knows the plans He has for us both now and in the future. Also, Ephesians 3:20 tells us that he is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine. I certainly don’t want to work toward a future that I’ve imagined up when I could just surrender and walk into one that is immeasurably more than I could imagine!