Embracing Today
By Sarah Walker
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
Matthew 1:23 (ESV)
By Sarah Walker
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
Matthew 1:23 (ESV)
When
I was in middle school, several of the margins of my notebooks contained two words:
“If only…” I was looking for a way to escape my reality. The “if onlys” of life
had gripped me. If only I fit in. If only it was a few years down the road. If
only I was out of this season of life. If only I had self-esteem. If only…
Sometimes,
we find ourselves reacting the same way I did. Sometimes, we choose to wish
away our current life situation, singularly focused on the “if onlys.” Other
times, we obsess over waiting for tomorrow to come, just biding our time until
our situations change. We might tell ourselves…When this happens, then I will choose to live again.
Sometimes
we are so focused on what we can’t do - - that we miss out on what we can do in
our current situation. In my third trimester of pregnancy, there have been days
when I have barely been able to move around my house. Some of those days, I
have given in to the despair and a bleak outlook. But other days, I have chosen
to ask myself… What can I do
today? It might not be much, but
there is usually something I can accomplish. Even if it is as simple as reading
a story to my three-year-old on the couch, I must choose to see that as doing
something.
Whether
or not you like where life finds you now, God is with you. Right where you are
at. You don’t need the situation to improve or the future to arrive for God to
be with you. Jesus came all those years ago and was given the name Immanuel,
meaning “God with us.” He came so He could be with us in our todays. Yes, He
will be with us in our tomorrows too, but there are moments in today where He
desires to reveal Himself to us. In those moments, we have a choice of whether
or not we respond to Him. Will we do what He is asking us to do…today?
Regardless
of the “if onlys” and the “when tomorrow comes” ways of thinking that might tempt
us, Jesus is with us in whatever our today looks like. After all, Jesus is our
Immanuel - - our God with us - - today.
GOING
DEEPER:
1.
Where do you see
God in your current situation?
2.
Even if the list
of “cannots” feels long, what can you do today?
Sarah is
married to Scott and is a full-time mom to their two young sons. She and Scott
are involved in a small group focused on prayer and are expecting to welcome
their third son in January.
