daily devotional

I recently heard adulthood is a never ending perpetual cycle of waiting for life to calm down, then you die. Is that you? Right now life is busy and hectic, it’s uncertain and stressed … but when it calms down, whew doggies look out, you’re gonna live! You’re going to start waking up earlier to watch that sunrise. You’ll sit and sip your coffee in pure delight. You’ll have time and energy. You will be proud of yourself and walk with confidence. Oh yes, that day is coming, that day when life calms down and you can be truly happy, and when it does, you’re going to live!

No you’re not! The very heartbeat of life is a rhythm of ups and downs, when it calms down your ride is over sister. We’re saving up our happy for an imaginary destination in life that doesn’t exist. Right here, right now, this is where you can live. Yes, this season of life, this one with it’s chaos and messes, this is where living happens. In the absence of calm is where you find the living.

It’s a nasty ploy of the enemy to convince you that sometime in the future you will have the time, energy and resources to do the things you want to do with your life. When life calms down … then. But right now, well this is just about surviving. Just get through this time you’re in now.

The truth is, we’re living perfectly good days of life in survival mode, in the absence of a crisis. Hey listen to me, that crisis may come and you may need to just get through it, but if your life is free of an absolute undeniable crisis today, then you better be living! The enemy’s plan is to kill, steal and destroy. Never lose sight of that. Has he been killing your happiness, stealing your joy, destroying your TODAY with a focus on tomorrow? Oh how he tricks us into missing today because of the worries of tomorrow, or missing today because of the hopes that somehow a future tomorrow will be better than the one we ended up with today.

Ephesians 5: 15-16 says “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity.” How do fools live? They miss opportunities? They don’t show up for life. Be careful how you live and make the most of every opportunity. Today is full of opportunities … what will you do with them? What if your response to today’s opportunities determine tomorrow’s offering? Yes, what if future opportunities are earned through using, enjoying, savoring that which has already been given to us?

Why wouldn’t you wake up and watch the sunrise today? Why wouldn’t you eat healthy delicious foods that make your body feel so good today? Why wouldn’t you dance to your favorite song? Why wouldn’t you wear your favorite shoes? Why wouldn’t you passionately kiss the person you love? Why? Because it’s just an ordinary weekday? Hey, the majority of your life is just an ordinary weekday. If we don’t learn to embrace living on these ordinary days, we miss the lump sum of what we’ve been given. Don’t miss THIS DAY. What has God given you in this DAY? Answer … a lot!

I used to think if I didn’t intentionally live my life, then my life just wouldn’t be lived. Now I know that’s not true. We will still live. We will still exist. Your life WILL just live itself. It will go on with or without your intentional effort. You don’t have to try to breathe. Your body functions without you even really trying. And here we are, these miraculous beings who are the masterpieces of the almighty creator, just letting life live itself. We’re just here, but not fully here. We’re showing up, but not bringing the best of us. Where is the best of us? Buried under layers of regret, guilt, shame and laziness. Dang it’s hard to even recognize the masterpiece with all we’ve layered on.

But, it’s in there. Our potential is still in there. Our destiny is still available. Our purpose still calls. And if we’re breathing today, that means we have an opportunity to show up and start really living. On purpose. Intentionally. Like we mean it!

When will we decide we won’t just let our lives live themselves any longer? When will we harness the power our creator has given us and WAKE UP? When will we live like we mean it?

Leave a boat on a river and it won’t just stay where you left it. What happens to that boat? It goes with the flow and then it crashes. It gets stuck on the bank of a river somewhere. Oh girl, is this what’s happened in your life? You hopped out on your own life. You stopped rowing. You stopped intentionally choosing your direction and you drifted. Oh going with the flow and doing what everyone else is doing didn’t take you where you wanted to go did it? You crashed didn’t you? Now here you are stuck on the banks of life, watching other people moving with purpose and direction going right on by you, wondering why that can’t be you.

Here’s why … you decided to stop trying. You don’t get where you want without effort. You and I live in a fallen world. This isn’t Heaven. Staying on the right course requires effort. If you don’t intentionally live your life, you won’t like the life you end up with. You won’t like who you see in the mirror. You won’t feel comfortable in your own skin because honey, that was never the skin you were supposed to slip into.

God has given you the power to choose. Choose well. Choose your direction. Choose your attitude. Choose your next stop. Choose who’s in your boat. This is your life and you get one shot at this. Show up and live it. On purpose. Intentionally. The desires of your heart are clues to lead you to your purpose. Get yourself unstuck and go after it.

Today, give yourself permission to live a BIG Life. Yes, permission. You have permission to cut the strings, stop holding back, quit playing little and admit that maybe you’re actually meant for great things. Maybe you’re actually capable of so much more. And maybe today you can be happy exactly where you are and do the things you said you would do someday. Because today is some day. Here you are. This is your chance. Yes, I know it’s an ordinary Tuesday in November, but what are you saving up for? That big magical day you’re waiting on may have some crisis attached to it, and how sad it would be to realize you wasted this perfectly good day today waiting for something that never came.

One day life will calm day. Yes it will. I witnessed exactly what that looks like. The moment after that final breath is real calm. I hope you’re not waiting for that. I hope you will decide to take this day with it’s ups and downs, it’s imperfections, it’s stresses and messes, it’s busy schedule and endless demands, and LIVE IT. I mean live the heck out of it. Because really, this is all you’ve got.

Don’t drift. Don’t just go with the flow and see what happens. No, you’ve been given the power to choose and row and direct. The power to turn around and go in a different direction. The power to slow down or speed up. If you just let your life live itself you’re not going to be happy with where you end up.

You’re not lost. God knows exactly where you are, he’s never taken his eye off you. He is guiding you and giving you today as an opportunity to live the life you want to live. Be the person you want to be, the person you can love, because that’s exactly who you were created to be. Life isn’t calming down today, embrace that! Be careful how you live, make the most of every opportunity.