Today is Enough
Being in a season of life where there is a lot of anticipation can be tough. I was waiting to finish my senior projects. Then I was waiting to find a job. I was waiting to graduate college. Then I was waiting for my first day of my big girl job. I was waiting to close on our new house. I was waiting and still am waiting for my wedding to arrive in just a couple of weeks!!
There’s a lot happening. And if I’m not careful, I easily fall into the trap of being fixated on either what’s behind or what’s ahead. I also find this to be a recurring problem with most people.
We’re so worried about how much better things could be if… Or how much better things will be when… we scroll through our feeds and have these notions that people are living much better and bigger lives, that what we have isn’t enough, that if only we had this or looked like that, we’d be happier. If we lost 10 pounds. If we had longer hair. If we made more money. If we took better pictures. If we had a better car. If we had more friends. The list goes on…
But this is nothing new. The people of Israel did the same thing. God heard them crying out, telling Him how much better off they’d be away from Pharaoh. Away from their slave-masters. Away from the pain.
And God responded. He took a good long look at the affliction of the people in Egypt and said, “I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey…”
And then, after God had performed miracles and wonders and gotten the people out of Egypt, after they had seen the miraculous wonders themselves, they were travelling and began to complain. “So what are we supposed to drink?” they whined. They then came up to some water.
And then a few days later… they started to complain again. “Why didn’t God let us die in comfort in Egypt where we had lamb stew and all the bread we could eat? You’ve brought us out into this wilderness to starve us to death, the whole company of Israel!”
And that is exactly how we can be sometimes. We can be so fixated on the future, on what will be. And then when the “what will be” becomes the “what is,” it’s not as good as we thought it’d be. It doesn’t fulfill us like we thought it would. But then, once the “what is” becomes the “what was,” and new things start coming our way, we now look at the “what was” and wish we had it back.
Does that make sense? Does that sound familiar? It’s a vicious cycle that can be on repeat in our lives if we’re not careful.
What can stop the cycle is to remember that God does not forget about us. He knows where we’re at and He has us where we’re at for His purpose. It’s truly believing in Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
Today is enough. This season of life is enough. Is it okay to be excited for the future? Absolutely. Is it okay to smile at the past? You betya. But it’s not okay to be fixated on it. Because your attachment to the past or your fixation on the future can keep you from receiving God’s provision for you right now. What you have today is where God needs you now. Don’t spend your days being so fixated on what was or what hopefully will be. Stop & pause & know that today is enough.
Don’t be like the Israelites who spent so much of their time complaining about what could or should have been. Of waiting for the day they were free and then wishing they were back in the comfort of captivity. Don’t go there. Be content with today.
Today is enough. Not the past you’re living in. Not the future you’re waiting for. Today is where you need to be. Don’t waste today’s grace by trying to fight tomorrow’s battles.
Take it in. Breathe. Live.
Today is enough. <3