For so many of us, we live in a constant state of looking towards the future. Waiting for what’s next. Waiting for our lives to finally fall into place. Waiting for something more. If I’m not careful, I can find myself thinking these thoughts over and over again.

So often I’ve thought that if I could just get to a certain point in my life that it would all make sense. That my life would finally have meaning. That I would finally fulfill my purpose. There have been times when I’ve been discouraged in the waiting periods of my life to the point where I miss the ministry opportunities right in front of me. Thinking that I can do something better and so I must work really hard to attain the means by which to get there. Or thinking that what I’m doing at a particular moment isn’t really making the difference that I want it to make.

And I find myself wishing for that moment…that opportunity…that season of life.

But that time doesn’t seem to arrive, does it? Even when we make decisions that land us in new, exciting territories that we expect to grant us a sense of purpose…it never satisfies. I know it never puts me at ease. It never puts an end to the longing in my soul for more to accomplish.

And in this place I find that God is waiting for me to realize…that this is the point.

Yes, there will always be something more to do. Yes, there will always be something else to consider. Yes, there will always be unfulfilled wishes of my heart. Because “the heart is utterly sick and who can understand it?”, as it says in Jeremiah 17:9. I can’t trust the something more of my heart.

But God is teaching me to be okay with not having the something more. He wants me to know that He is the someone more.

And through Him, I can learn to be faithful right here and now. Through Him, I can be at ease. Through Him, I can find meaning in my place in life. Through Him, I can do ministry to those around me. Through Him, I always have purpose and I don’t need to wait for what’s next.

The greatest ministry opportunity I’ll ever have will always be: right now. Wherever I’m at. And wherever you’re at, know that you have a calling to do ministry in that place too. God is calling us today.

The psalmist writes in Psalm 95:7b-8, “Today, if you hear His voice: “Do not harden your hearts as at Maribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness.” Again this is repeated in Hebrews 3:15, “Today, if you hear His voice: “Do not harden your hearts.”

It is imperative that we focus on today, instead of wishful thinking of what the future may or may not bring. I know I am guilty of this. But the truth of scripture reminds me that I do not know what tomorrow may bring or if it will come (Proverbs 21:7 & James 4:13-14). But I do have today. So do you. And today is in desperate need of the love of the Savior to reach a lost and dying world.

As we focus on God as our strength for today, we immediately find purpose. The purpose that we’ve been waiting for. A heart change happens that shifts our desires away from ourselves and onto God. And we find purpose by being in relationship with the Savior who created us to long for Him and find satisfaction in the longing. This is best demonstrated through the words of the psalmist in Psalm 84:10. It is one of my favorite psalms and a prayer for the trajectory of my heart. Let us meditate on it together: “Better a day in your courts than a thousand anywhere else. I would rather be at the door of the house of my God than to live in the tents of the wicked.”

I love the passion of the psalmist in this passage. He is so enraptured with God that the sheer thought of being at His door is enough to fill his heart with zealous longing. Just at the door. Even for one day. Even if he doesn’t get to peek inside. Or see God’s face. Just to be at His door is enough for him.

And I am pierced in my heart as I ask myself: Is it enough for me?

I know I can get so distracted by all of the things I have planned, all the things I want to do for God, all the things I hope to accomplish…but what if I stopped to think about God in the way the psalmist does? To stop thinking about what I can do and simply rest in the thought of where I could be.

What if you and I stop and meditate on the thought of just being at the door of God’s house even for one day? To love Jesus with such passion that the cares of this world don’t even enter our minds because we are so enraptured with a longing for just a glimpse of the house of the Lord. May it radically change our perspective.

As I meditate on Jesus and ask for Him to grant me a longing for Him, I find indeed that He is the something more. Really, He is the someone more. And He gives me purpose for today. I’m finding that being faithful where I’m at is more important than all my future goals, even of service to Him. Because He’s more concerned about who I am becoming than where I am going.

Now I can stop waiting for my “aha” moment where life finally makes sense. I don’t need to anticipate it any longer. Because it is not a future moment I must wait for…rather it is an imminent gift I must take possession of. The gift of learning more about Jesus today. The gift of making the most of my opportunities today. The gift of relationship with Jesus today. May we, who are in Christ, never take that relationship for granted. For intimacy with Christ today is much more important than the plans of tomorrow.

And as we become who we were created to be in Christ, our influence magnifies in effectiveness because we have more to offer others.

In 2 Peter 1:5-8, Peter writes, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Peter is encouraging us to grow in our relationship with the Lord in all of these ways so that we will be effective in our faith and ministry. Our character in Christ is directly proportional to our fruitfulness. We must take possession of the gift of Christ and make every effort to spend time with Him, knowing that we are maturing into who we are made to be and can then reach others the way Jesus did. It matters who we are becoming. Because those around you and I are impacted by what we say and do…so we must receive that influence and decide to make the most of it in any way that God calls us to, no matter how big or small it may seem to us.

This is why we must be faithful now where we’re at in life. We must be diligent now to spend time with Jesus. Today is the day of salvation, as it says in 2 Corinthians 6:2. Today is the day we grow in our faith. Today is the day we make a difference. Today is the day. May it be a reminder that forever compels us to press on with urgency.

And then, we will realize… that Christ in me …Christ in You…that is the “aha” moment! That is when it all makes sense. Colossians 1:27 says it so well!  “To them God chose to make known how great among the gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Christ reigns in us! This generates hope within that can never be quenched. Realize just how significant you are right now, not just to God, but to all those who surround you wherever you’re at in life. Today, you have purpose in Christ. The hope of glory. To make His name known. To magnify His name above all others. And that means above ourselves. And above our plans.

I must decide to embrace these moments right now as the moments that matter. As the moments that have purpose. As the moments that are making a difference. Because if Christ is in us, everything we do right now has purpose! There is someone more that is working in our souls. Generating purpose. Generating satisfaction. Generating passion. Generating a longing for Him. And through Him, it all makes sense.

We can choose to think about all that we could be doing, should be doing, would be doing if we were in another place or had another set of circumstances. But what if our circumstances never change? Will you and I still be faithful today? Will we still trust Him today? Will we let Him be enough today? We must decide today who we live for. It’s a decision that has major implications for our lives. But also has the potential to dissolve so many of the fears, worries and lack of purpose that plague our hearts.

Let the finality of what it means to have Christ in you be enough. Let it amaze you. Let it sink in. Let it prompt you to want to bring Him glory in everything that you do and make the most of today for the benefit of another.

“But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.” – Hebrews 3:13

Questions for Today:

• What future goals are distracting me from being faithful today?
• How can I make the most of my place in life right now?
• Why is Jesus more concerned with who I am becoming rather than where I am going?
• What next step is Jesus asking me to take in my relationship with Him today?

“My Heart if Yours” by Passion Band ft Kristian Stanfill