Today’s devotion reminds us that returning to the present is ultimately a return to the place where God is already present.
Prefer to listen? Hear today’s episode of Still, Here audio reflections podcast.
Scripture: Genesis 28:16
Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I didn’t know it.”
The Pressure I Feel
I can spend so much time searching for a better moment, season, place, or version of myself that I overlook the holiness of the life I am actually living.
The Grace I Receive
God is already here. The present is where I can love, choose, receive, respond, and participate with Him.
Reflection
We often imagine that meaningful encounters with God happen somewhere else.
At church. On retreat. During prayer. In a particularly moving moment. After life settles down. When we become more disciplined. When the problem is resolved. When we finally have time.
Meanwhile, ordinary life keeps happening: coffee, traffic, work, laundry, appointments, interruptions, conversations, meals, bills, the same hallway, the same desk, the same people.
It is easy to spend so much time searching for a more spiritual moment that we overlook the one we are standing in.
Jacob nearly did. He awakened after an encounter with God and realized that God had been present before Jacob recognized it. That may be one of the most important discoveries of the spiritual life.
Coming back to the present is more than a technique for calming yourself. It is more than mindfulness. It is not simply learning to feel better. You return because God is here.
The present moment is the only place where you can actually love. The only place you can forgive. The only place you can listen. The only place you can choose. The only place you can act. The only place you can receive. The only place you can say yes to God.
Yesterday may contain wisdom. Tomorrow may contain possibility. But relationship with God always happens here.
That changes what returning means. When you notice yourself drifting backward, forward, or outward and come back, you are not simply returning to yourself. You are returning to presence with God.
And with that realization comes purpose and agency: I do not have to live somewhere else. There is something available here. There is something I can become here. There is something I can do here.
You are not trapped in the present. You are being given the present.
Formation Practice
At least once today, stop where you are. Do not create a special spiritual setting. Let the place be ordinary: a kitchen, an office, a parked car, a hallway, a backyard. Notice your surroundings. Let yourself take the breath that comes. Then pray slowly: “I am here. You are here. Show me what is mine to do here.” Do not demand an answer. The practice is presence. The next faithful step can emerge from there.
Prayer of Formation
God,
I have spent so much time searching for You somewhere else: in another season, another circumstance, another version of myself. Open my eyes to Your presence here. Let me receive this moment without needing it to become something else first. Ground me in Christ. Make me available to love, listen, respond, create, serve, rest, speak, or act as You lead. I am here. You are here. That is enough to begin.
– Amen
Carry This Prayer
Breathe in: I am here with You…
Breathe out: …make this moment holy
For Today
Here is holy because God is here.
Which line from today’s devotion are you carrying with you? You are welcome to share it in the comments.