This week's article is part-two of a series my dad wrote for his church newsletter. We sent out part-one last week, but since many of you are new this week we have posted a copy on our website under Recent Reflections; it is entitled Living by Heart. -- Shalom! Mike

Living in the Moment
By Jim Rule

"God has yet to bless anyone except where they actually are, and if we faithlessly discard situation after situation, moment after moment, as not being 'right,' we simply have no place to receive his kingdom into our life. For those situations and moments are our life." - Dallas Willard

Last month I wrote about living by heart because I was reminded not to live only by the calendar - the external paper one imposed by life and its obligations or the internal one I set up in my own expectations. This month I've been reminded to live moment by moment.

Dallas Willard's statement reminded me that I have learned to live through many daily moments knowing that they will eventually pass and I will come out on the other side into more welcome circumstances or situations. That human tendency is behind bumper stickers and plaques proclaiming things like "A bad day on the golf course is better than a good day at work" or "I'd rather be shopping." Major League Baseball promos on TV present ball players saying, "I live for this!" The implication is that things like jobs, domestic duties, or family obligations are only necessities to be tolerated - filler between the really good stuff that we actually live for.

But it's a question of what I use to measure the worth or significance of any given moment. If pleasure, enjoyment, and self-gratification are the criteria I use to determine the worth of my situation or circumstance, then certainly some moments are only necessary filler between them. But if God is the criteria for measuring the worth and value of any given moment, then their value is immensely different. A recent DISCIPLE Bible Study session brought that home to me.

Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, was sold into slavery in Egypt by his less favored brothers and his father was led to believe he had been killed by wild animals. In Egypt, he made the best of the situation and excelled at all the assignments he was given. But a scheming woman got him in trouble and he ended up in prison though he did nothing wrong. He languished in prison even after doing a favor for a fellow-prisoner who failed to vouch for him once he was set free. Rejected by his siblings, unjustly punished for his moral behavior, and un-rewarded for his service to others, he seems to be the epitome of a sorry victim of circumstances. But God was very much in it all.

Though a prisoner in a foreign land, God was training Joseph in the ways of the Egyptians so that he might step into a position of leadership and responsibility among them, was growing his faith and trust in God, was providing an avenue in Egypt for Joseph's people to escape starvation during a coming famine, and keeping His promises to sustain and prosper them as His chosen people in the world. God's presence and provision was in each of those seemingly tragic moments and circumstances in ways that Joseph could not foresee or imagine at the time.

By faith, I believe God wants us to know the same - that He is in every moment of our lives as well. We many not know exactly what He is up to (and we may never know in this life) but we can be assured that in surrender to Him He is present and providing. That means that the value of each moment is not determined by the circumstances but by God's presence in the circumstances and is found only through faith that He is. But when I seek to use my own criteria of self-satisfaction or pleasure to determine a moment's value, some will be less significant to me than others.

Trusting that God is in every moment doesn't mean I will enjoy every situation equally - pain and disappointment just aren't as much fun as pleasure and joy - but that doesn't matter because God's presence in distress or in pleasure is my greatest blessing.

So this is it! This moment right now, as it continues into the next, and the next, is your life! Quit thinking that life will really begin when you finish school, when you get married, when you have children, when you get your promotion, when you're finally on vacation, when you retire, when you get over your illness...when...when... when...! This is your life now! and it is good because God is in it. Live by heart and live in the moment!