Day 13: Today
I love the fact that the God of the universe dwelt in a human body, lived, breathed, experienced all things as we did, and walked among us. I love it. The reality that God not only knows what is it like to be Creator, but to walk in creation as Creator. It’s beautiful and it’s challenging to me, because the One who is Eternal, who is not bound by past, present, or future, came and lived presently on earth.
One of the things that I am most challenged by in life is being present. I am constantly thinking of the future, of other things that I need to get done, of other people, of burritos, etc. I struggle in being present because I rush, because I am too afraid to actually be present, or be loved, or be completely honest. But I have found that when I am present, when I allow myself to be loved, to be honest, to simply be, I am most myself and I am most open to seeing, knowing, and being with God.
When Jesus prays, “give us today our daily bread” He is reminding us to not rush around, to not worry about tomorrow, to stop running from the present moment, because in the present moment God’s love is just as strong, fierce, and beautiful as it is in tomorrow’s moment. The greatest thing about this prayer is that the One who is Eternal, and is holding time, is calling us to slow down, and be scandalously present.
John Ortberg writes about this concept in the book Soul Keeping in which he asks Dallas Willard what it means to be spiritually healthy. Willard responds, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” I believe that when we acknowledge that we are in need, and that God is going to provide enough for the day, that we can be at peace knowing that we don’t need to rush ahead or stay behind, we can just be with the One who was, is, and will always be. In praying for today, we are aligning ourselves with the One who is beyond time, yet He is present with us no matter where, when, what, how, or why. In praying for today, we are opening our hearts to be present as God is present with us. Amen.
Action: For our “action” step today, I would encourage you to not do anything but sit and listen to the song “A Little Longer” by Jenn Johnson. Just be with God. Let yourself become more aware of Him, and just listen, just sit, just breathe, just be. He is present, yesterday, tomorrow, and today, He is present. Pray: Sustainer God, align us with Your being present.
