Straight from a Moment-Seizing Heart
by Lisa Elliott

“We should get together someday!”
“Someday I want to get my act together.”
“Someday, when I’m richer, older, more educated, etc. … I’ll do this or that.”

Our tendency is to procrastinate and put things off until the perfect day comes. I hate to break it to you. There is no such day. In fact, your tomorrow may be less perfect than your today! Matthew 6:34 tells us that each day has enough trouble of its own.

If we wait for “someday” to do what we want to do, or spend time with someone we love, or make the investment in our lives or in the lives of others that we want to make, that day may never come. “Someday” doesn’t appear on our calendar!

Ecclesiastes 11:4 (NLT) says, “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.”

James says, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14, NIV).

Solomon calls life a vapour. It is used 38 times in the book of Ecclesiastes. Like a breath, a soap bubble, a puff that is here one moment and gone the next. He was likely influenced by his father, King David, who says in Psalm 39:4-5a (NIV), “Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath.”

Years ago, I read a book I’ve since lost track of, but I have never forgotten because of the impact it had on my life. It’s entitled, Life Is Too Short to Miss Today. It was written by Margaret Foth, a woman who had seen life from a new perspective when she was diagnosed with cancer. Chapters included titles such as “Life is too short to have floors too shiny to walk on” and “Life is too short to not take a nap when you need one.” The book is about priorities and finding a healthy balance between what is temporal and what is eternal.

I lived out this reality the year my son battled leukemia. That’s when I learned how to live life in the moment. I learned to see things through eternity’s eyes. Priorities were adjusted. The main things became the plain things. I learned to savour each opportunity as if it were the last. To see the beauty in this world and breathe in the wonder of it all. I saw how fleeting life is. And, how the smallest things, one day, become the most significant.

Most importantly, I learned the value of investing in a relationship with Jesus before the storms of life hit. I was never so thankful that I hadn’t waited for “someday” to come along before putting Jeremiah 17:7-8 into practice. Planting myself in the rich soil of God’s love, sitting by the streams of Living Water, digging deep in the life-giving power of His Word, and growing in my understanding and knowledge of Him so that when the droughts came, I wouldn’t fail to bear fruit.

In the story of the rich young ruler, recorded in three of the four Gospels, we witness the tragedy of not accepting the gift God gives of Himself in its present form. The Bible tells us that he walked away sad, realizing He had forfeited his future by putting off his decision to follow Jesus when he had the opportunity right in front of him, quite literally.

I don’t know about you. But I don’t want to live to have any regrets. “Should haves” and “could haves” paralyze us and weigh us down, preventing us from embracing what “could be.” I don’t want to miss out on all that God has waiting for me in each moment He gives me. And, while I haven’t got it all down to a fine art yet, I’m learning to live as fully as I can in each moment, in whatever shape it comes. Looking for God in the middle of my mess rather than cursing Him for allowing it. Leaning into my grief, pain, and challenging circumstances, realizing the invaluable lessons to be learned there. Rather than cursing the darkness, finding treasures buried deep within, as mentioned in Isaiah 45:3. Not waiting for another opportunity to do or say. Rather, taking advantage of opportunities as they arise.

Otherwise, we run the risk of missing out on important things as we wait for the bigger things to come before we enjoy them. Waiting for the perfect timing deprives us of living life as it unfolds. People get overlooked, and opportunities are wasted.

Therefore, don’t put off until tomorrow what you could do today. Don’t wait for “someday” before you follow the prompting of God to call that friend, write that card, take that trip, or bring a meal to that neighbour. Go ahead, tell your loved one that you love them—today. Offer a hug when the time lends itself. Be with the person you’re with, rather than wishing you were with someone else. Put your phone away and unplug for a day. Take a day retreat to invest in your relationship with Jesus. Take advantage of today by acknowledging little victories, savouring seemingly insignificant moments, and spending time with family and friends or engaging in activities while you still have energy and health to invest. Make a list of things you’d like to do but have been putting off doing. Conquer one of the things on your list today. Think of someone you’ve been meaning to see and put a date on the calendar to make that happen, recognizing that life is too short to miss today. In other words, don’t wait for a special occasion to celebrate. Rather, celebrate the process.

Life consists of a series of moments—not merely the sum of them. Every minute and every opportunity the Lord gives us is meant to be welcomed, embraced, and lived out—fully—in whatever shape it comes. It requires impromptu and flexibility. But it also requires intentionality and forethought. Otherwise, it’s an afterthought, filled with regret. Therefore, we need to seize the day as it unfolds before us. Taking time while we have it to live life to the fullest. In John 10:10, it’s called the abundant life. And Jesus gave up His life to give it to us.

No, God doesn’t ever promise us tomorrow. “Someday” never appears on the calendar.

Tomorrow is not a guarantee or a promise. Each day is a gift. That’s why we call it the Present. In the words of an old song by Bill and Gloria Gaither, “Yesterday’s gone and tomorrow may never come. But we have this moment today.” How will you spend it?

15 Ways to Turn Someday into Today

1. Seize the moment when it comes. “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness”(Hebrews 3:13, NIV).
2. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you could do today. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34, NIV).
3. Be slow to anger and quick to forgive. “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires” (James 1:19-20, NIV ).
4. Be mindful of your words and actions. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25, NIV).
5. Use your five senses to experience God in the wonder of His creation. “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4, NIV).
6. Track your joys on a daily basis. “Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10, NIV).
7. Take advantage of opportunities to express your love toward someone. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35, NIV).
8. Live in the moment as an investment in your future to prevent you from being stuck in the past. “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14, NIV).
9. Make a list of all of God’s blessings as you consider His faithfulness in your life. “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great IS your faithfulness”(Lamentations 3:21-23, NIV emphasis mine).
10. Record some of the lessons you’re learning amid difficult circumstances. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11, NIV).
11. Look for God’s activity in the middle of your mess and trust Him for the outcome. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10a, NIV).
12. Set apart time every day to read, study, memorize, and meditate on the Word of God. “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes” (Psalms 19:7-8, NIV).
13. Turn your worry list into a prayer list. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, NIV).
14. Practice the presence of God, consciously being aware of Him right there with you throughout your day. “When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it’” (Genesis 28:16, NIV).
15. Invest in a relationship with the Lord today. “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8, NIV).

“THIS day … I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord Is your life” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20a, NIV emphasis mine).

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Need a little extra encouragement? Discover more inspirational blogs by Lisa Elliott, Straight from the Heart.

About this Contributor:

Lisa Elliott is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of The Ben Ripple, Dancing in the Rain, and A Ministry Survival Guide. She’s also a writer for Just Between Us Magazine, theStory, and Good Ground. She and her husband, David, have four children (three on earth, one in heaven) and serve the Lord together in Stratford, ON, Canada.