Welcome to Joni and Friends. I’m your host, Joni Eareckson Tada.
There’s not much TV I like, but when I've got a free Friday evening, I absolutely love watching “The Dog Whisperer.” You may have heard about him – his name is Cesar Milan and he rehabilitates all kinds of neurotic dogs with bad habits – dogs who bite their owners, dogs who bite their neighbors, dogs that bark at anybody or anything on wheels… last week the dog whisperer helped a Great Dane get over his crazy fear of shiny linoleum floors. I couldn’t believe it. This big Great Dane was afraid of walking on linoleum floors. Anyway, once Cesar got the Great Dane finally walking on linoleum – which to me was absolutely fascinating how he did it -- Cesar was then teaching the owner how to help the dog continue on. And the dog whisperer said a very insightful thing. He said something to the effect, “You have to help your dog quit thinking about the past or being worried about the future. Help your dog live in the moment – he says that a lot – live in the moment, do not become occupied with the past or future. Get your dog to live in the now!”
I thought, Man, that’s good advice for humans, especially Christians! No wonder we become overwhelmed by life… a lot worse things than whether or not a floor is shiny! Too many of us are pre-occupied with the past or we’re angsting over the future. When Jesus speaks of Satan, the enemy of our souls, He names him as the one who has come to steal, kill and destroy. If Satan can get us to focus on our past mistakes, our stupid wrong turns, and wasted opportunities, Satan has stolen the present moment from us. And likewise if he can nudge us into worrying about tomorrow’s bills, or tomorrow’s deadlines or health concerns, he’s done it again.
If our spiritual enemy can keep us occupied with days gone by or days yet to be lived, we then lose the grace, and the blessings and the opportunities in the now. And when you lose the present moment, in a way, you lose everything – because you see, life on earth is simply a long string of consecutive moments. Think of these moments of life as pearls on a string, each loaded with potential and opportunity. The devil wants to rob you of as many of those precious pearls as many of those moments as he possibly causing you to live life in the rearview mirror, or concerning yourself with future scenarios which most likely will like never occur.
Yep, the dog whisperer, Cesar Milan, and Oswald Chambers share a present-tense perspective. Oswald Chambers once wrote that grace is for ‘right now.’ It is not the process toward some future goal, but an end in and of itself. If we would only realize this, then each moment would become rich with meaning and purpose.” Grace is for now!
So, friend, don’t listen to the whisperer of lies, that old adversary the devil. The Bible says forgetting what lies behind, press on. It also says do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. You have this moment, friend – this one right now – God has given you to live for His glory. Don’t allow Satan to steal another precious pearl of a day… receive the grace and the blessings and look for the opportunities right this minute.
And don’t forget to write us at Joni and Friends, that’s P.O. Box 3333, Agoura Hills, CA 91376.
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