The God of Now-Here

Meditations for Ragamuffins 

January 31, 2024

The God of Now-Here 

God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

 Exodus 3:14 

One of my favorite expressions is, “I’ve got nowhere to go and all day to get there.” Even in my retirement, the days without meetings, appointments, and places to be, are few and far between. In my expression, being nowhere is a place of rest. However, to some, being nowhere carries negative connotations. To say we are nowhere means we haven’t made progress, or that where we are is of no significance. However, when we look at the word nowhere, we see that it is made up of two words: now and here. When we learn to practice the spiritual discipline of now-here, we are making great progress in our spiritual transformation, and we are in a place of great significance.

Two great temptations in life try desperately to keep us out of now-here. We are either distracted by issues in our past, or we are side-tracked by worries of what may happen in the future. These dual enemies keep us inattentive to the present needs and realities of our life. Perhaps you have heard the word play someone fashioned about God’s self-identification to Moses: “God replied to Moses, “I AM who I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you”” (Exodus 3:14 NLT). God didn’t say I was, or I will be. He said I AM which is to say He is our God of the present moment; He is our God of now-here.

The practice of the spiritual discipline of now-here is preceded by the spiritual discipline of reflection. Take time to reflect on your day. Remember the places where you went and the people you encountered. Let Psalm 139 be your guide as you reflect on all the activities of your day: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24). As you practice the disciple of holy reflection, you will begin to see the places where your enemies, past and future, diverted your attention from living now-here.

My Takeaway: Let’s not tarry too long over regret for missed opportunities that could have been used as a vessel of grace by our Master; let’s simply purpose in our heart that, with the help of our Holy Comforter, we will endeavor to become more aware of living now-here.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2024 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.