Bloom where you are planted.

"Anxiety is a result when you view your future without Me" -Sarah Young

The other day I blogged about dreams. Earlier today I blogged about being driven by patience in His will rather than emotions.

Dreams aren't bad. Praying for the future isn't bad, but what is wrong is putting such a heavy focus on that to the point of forgetting about the Great Commission God calls us all to. The purpose of our lives is to, as His creation, be brought back in to harmony with our Maker (Rob Bell). As we seek restoration with Christ, we need to be completely focused on bringing Him glory rather than seeking to fulfill our own desires.

The purpose of marriage is to be a support system for your spouse, encouraging them for their roles in advancing the kingdom of God. So why put such a focus on dreams about the future? Especially if we are not picturing God in this future.

Picturing God in the future is not simply imagining going to church and serving. These things are good, but that's the danger in it. If these things are good and we picture ourselves as doing these things, we are imagining ourselves as good church goers, good parents, good spouses, and good servants. We forget, in these imaginations, who the meaning good is actually derived from. There is no good apart from God.

Furthermore, the person who obsesses over the future will obsess over the past. It's a pattern. Just look at the way the world operates. If we are so focused on our time, our past, our future, then we won't give where we are. We won't be seeking how to serve God. We will just be seeking to meet our desires.

So stop. Stop trying to figure it all out. Stop obsessing over the future and just live. Live patiently and compassionately. Live selflessly. Bloom right where you're planted, living each day surrendered to the way God wants to use you in every moment. Recognize the presence He has in every second. Relish these moments and when you lack joy cling to His promise to restore you with Him. Don't cling to His promise to bless you (which He will as you abide in Him). Cling simply to His character, His will. Be comforted in the fact that He is outside of time. The more you imagine your life in His will, the more you will let go of the anxiety of everyday.

"As the father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete" -John 15:9-11