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Be Here Now |
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Article by Tom Gilbert — © Living
the Solution
Be here now. It sounds so easy. Nevertheless, we are rarely in
the now. It just may be the hardest thing to do. How can we
be present in the present?
The human mind is remarkable. The sophistication and the capacity
are incredible. No one uses more than a fraction of his actual
brainpower. Despite that we often have racing minds. Our thoughts
come at us in rapid succession. One of the challenges of being
in the present is that we are thinking so much and often about
the past or the future.
In order to stay in the present and focused on what is happening
right here, right now we must calm our minds. Psalm 46:10 tells
us how. "Be still and know that I am God". This not
only has a soothing effect on our hectic brains, it is also
essential advice. God is revealing himself to us in the quiet
stillness.
As a rule many of us are over stimulated. The trend in society
is on speed. We must have everything on demand. This is bad
teaching. When we begin to expect things immediately we not
only are setup for disappointment, we are also not patient enough
to wait for God's goodness to be revealed.
We can take a lesson from the natural law of the harvest. The soil
must be prepared, the seed is planted, the crop is nurtured
and finally it is harvested. This is a process that cannot be
rushed. Why do we think our personal growth should be any different?
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Get Busy…Get Out Of Self
What is really effective to "now" living is to get out
of our self-centeredness and get busy doing for others. Isolation
is a trap that lays waiting for us with the bait of worry, anxiety,
fear and desire. This is not the same as sitting quietly waiting
on the Lord's still small voice. There is a clear difference
between quiet personal time, alone with God and the separation
from others. Your "alone" time with God is to grow
closer in your personal relationship with your heavenly Father.
Isolation is escapism.
I know that if I sit alone in quiet meditation after reading the
Word and other uplifting Christian writing I can feel very peaceful.
I begin to sense that everything is connected and all right.
Yet, I cannot stay there. As Philip Yancey says in Reaching
for the Invisible God, "the Christian life is not meant
to be lived by a person sitting alone all day thinking about
the Christian life."
True faith is characterized by action. Being present and accounted
for and laboring in the vineyard is an important aspect of Christian
living.
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| Tom Gilbert is a writer
and spiritual seeker who edits and maintains the Living the
Solution web site. You may reprint this article as long as
you give credit and a link back to www.livingthesolution.com |
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978,
1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout
the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks
of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for
the offering of goods or services requires the prior written
consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission
of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All
rights reserved.
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