Not the Next Thing, but the Now

Not the Next Thing, but the Now

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”

I absolutely love Matthew 7:7-8. It’s one of my favorites, as I say that about mostly every other verse but you get the point. It just deeply speaks to me.

In Thailand last week I was invited to a friend’s going away party. One of the topics at the table came up as, “How do you know what God wants you to do next?” I smiled and said, “We make it so complicated don’t we.” Being the new girl in the room, everyone became silent and stared at me. I guess that was my cue to keep talking…so as hard as that was for me, I did. I began sharing that we say we want to know what God wants us to do NEXT and then go around asking everyone’s advice on what they think, even though we know that the very source we are going to receive the answer from is by prayer itself. (Guilty) We want everyone’s input (not saying it’s bad to get good Godly council and guidance), but we aren’t moving forward till two things are cleared up.

1. We learn to live in the moment and not for the next thing.

2. We get quiet before God and ask, seek, and knock.

Until we do these two things, we will not receive joy in the mundane, peace in the chaos, and patience with the waiting.

How many of you are ready for the next thing to happen in your life? Probably a lot of you just did a sigh of “yep” under your breath.

God has been showing me to STOP looking forward to the next thing. That goes against all of humanity. (At least in Morgan’s world of living.) I’m in Thailand and still have a little over three more months left. People started asking me right when I stepped on foreign soil what was I planning to do next after Thailand. I just think to myself, “Why can’t I just do what God wants me to do NOW and then find out what’s next after that?”

You’re single – When are you getting a boyfriend/girlfriend?

You have a boyfriend/girlfriend – When are you getting married?

You’re married – When are you having children?

You’re in school – What are you going to study in college?

You’re in college – When are you getting a decent job?

You get a job – Don’t you wish you could just retire already?

Kind of get the point? We are always trying to rush life. Why can’t we be happy for someone in the season they are in? Let them learn. Let them grow. Let them enjoy. Let them experience life. Live in the moment God has given you to do all of those things. If we can’t, He’s not going to want us to move on to the next task He has assigned for us for we aren’t ready yet. He is always working in what we call “the waiting part of life.” But this is how good God is. After those verses we go on to read in Matthew 7:9-11 and Jesus said, “Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

I think the reason why we are so worried about the next thing is because we are scared we are going to miss it or not even like it. My friend, I’ve been there and I’m writing this out in my own struggles. By reading these verses above, let it bring peace to you today in knowing that God is that good He won’t let you miss it. He knows what you need, when you need it, and how to even give it to you!

I also shared around the table that night in the middle of Bangkok, that God doesn’t want to hide or keep things from you. He doesn’t want to keep you guessing your whole life. All He wants is for you to ask, seek, and knock and there you will find your answer – Him.

Live in the moment with every fiber of your being. Live your NOW and there God will lead you to the NEXT thing.