Some days it’s so clear. Some days reality is so real.

Today I see it. It hit me as I was moping my kitchen floor (for some reason, I tend to think most clearly when I’m cleaning)…this life is just not “it.” This life is so temporary, so un-real, so small, compared to what is next.

I hear people that worry and fret about all the things going on and all the things to come…and sure, we all have those questions. But today I see, maybe more clearly than I ever have before, that there is nothing to fear. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Because what this world is, what this life is, is not what we are made for. We are made for the next life. We are made for a different kingdom. We are in a different kingdom. And because of that, the things that happen in this world are small. Politics, Obamacare, economic issues, wars and rumors of wars, sickness, and even death…none of these have to be feared. None of these have to give me cause to lay awake at night. Because I am not of this world.

I think certain desires are written on each of our souls: peace, rest, security, unending joy, quality relationships, perfect connection with God. I think all of humanity carries these desires inside, whether they recognize it or not. We get a taste of the fulfillment of these desires in this world…moments of peace, a great conversation with a friend or spouse, an evening of worship or time of prayer that fills our entire being with the presence of the Lord. But ultimately, I desire more. I desire that each and all of the things my soul longs for to be completely fulfilled, uninterrupted, forever and ever. I want to always feel – no, not merely feel, but know – peace, joy, security, the presence of the Lord, and absolute, overwhelming, everlasting joy. I won’t feel that in this world…but I will in the next.

None of this means that we just check out of life here and turn passive and just let it pass by with our heads buried in the sand. We are put here for a purpose…but we are put here for a season. And during that season, we should make everything we can out of the time and circumstances we are given.

So in times of uncertainty and anxiety, let the thought of your true reality, your true kingdom, give you peace. No matter what comes, you are safe. No matter what comes, you have the next world that is your true world.

Carry on, my friends!

The past can be a drag. Literally.

The past can be a thing that drags me far away from all that I am now, from all the Lord has redeemed and changed and made new. Sometimes when I think of the past, of who I was, of how I was, of all that I regret and feel ashamed of now…sometimes I feel it dragging me right back there. And then all of the past feels so present.

And then my soul feels shame, embarrassment, regret. Regret for all the manipulative ways, the selfish living, the striving and reaching, the insecurities and the way that insecurity played out in my life, the ways I used others to make myself feel good and beautiful and in control.

The enemy would love for me to stay there. He would love for me to sit on the pile of muck from yesterday.

But Jesus…Jesus is Redeemer. He is “make new-er”. And He loves to take the things of the past and use it to make a glorious present and a glorious future. But I have to get off the muck. I have to let go of the past. I have to refuse to allow it to define me, but choose to allow it to refine me. I have to choose to let it make me a new person, a better person.

My past is the past, and does not define my future.
My past is the past, and does not define my future, but can influence my future in so many positive ways.

The question is: will I let that happen?

What about you: do you find it easy to let the past drag you down? How has the Lord used the past to make something awesome in your present?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!