With an unreconciled past and uncertain future, we have a tendency to be unappreciative in the present. A common result of such ingratitude is conformance with what we think society wants us to do, which grinds us into something we don’t like. That’s no way to live.
Such are the difficult, routine, and monotonous tasks of daily work and life, a.k.a. the daily grind. It’s a byproduct of Industrial-Age culture, which still exists in corporate America and many other parts of the world. The grind effectively constructs personal prisons that entrap our spirits. It does not serve us well and prevents us from savoring the beauty of today.
Learning to savor today frees all those who are held in that prison. Yes, the good news is that you can learn how to escape. Think of it as training, much like an athlete trains for their sport. It’s not easy, but it is simply accomplished by pursuing these four steps with an indomitable spirit:
- Know your God-given identity.
- It is only possible by developing a relationship with God.
- It helps you understand what’s expected of you (and what’s not). This is your calling.
- Accept the responsibility for your calling.
- Change your priorities.
- Redefine your values and what’s important.
- Reassign your priorities.
- Trim the vine of anything that is not aligned with those priorities.
- Look ahead to the goal in faith.
- Keep your eye on the reward.
- Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.
Faith also remembers great people who lived in the past and demonstrated, with perseverance and grit, that executing these four steps is possible. I can think of people from biblical times through the present day who’ve accomplished this. I am grateful to have them as role models.
One such person is Moses. When he eventually learned his true identity, i.e. he was a Jew and not the grandson of the King of Egypt, he chose to accept responsibility for freeing the Hebrews from slavery from Pharaoh. He gave up all the things many people spend their whole lives trying to get: popularity, pleasure, and possessions. He rejected the luxurious life. This newfound responsibility set his vision, his vision influenced his values, and his values determined his priorities. He ultimately led the Hebrew people out of slavery, but it was a long and arduous journey. It took an enormous amount of grit and faith to keep his eye on the reward.
Moses was able to savor every day of that journey because it was rooted in a daily relationship with God. That’s the common denominator for our journeys as well. He let go of his past, faithfully walked to his future, and embraced his present. The same opportunity is available to us.
Know. Accept. Change. Look. Four simple steps.
God longs to do far more than you ask or think, provided you lean into him for his guidance. He has plans for you far above anything you could ever dream of, and the path to those plans begins by savoring today.
This post was originally published on December 29, 2019, and is republished today with minor enhancements.
MindWolves 