We’re always thinking about the next play, the next season, the next new training method that’s going to give us the edge over our competition. Or we’re looking behind at the last season that ended too quickly in the postseason, what we could have done better to help our team.

It’s like our default is set to overthink and worry about where we’re going and how the pieces are going to match up to make it happen. But what does dwelling in the past or fretting about the future get us? Nothing but more worry.

We are too easily distracted about what’s coming up or ruminating on what we could have altered that we miss what’s right now. And there’s plenty right in front of us that deserves our presence.

God is with us in the moment. He says He is with us, and it’s important to slow ourselves down enough to experience all He has for us in the here and now.

Jesus knows how prone our minds are to wander, worrying about how we’re going to provide for our families, where we’re going to go to college, if we’re going to keep our starting spot.

He’s given us a frame of reference that realigns us with what’s important, a reminder to lay everything at His feet and trust God to take care of our needs.

In His message on the mountain, Jesus lays out an entirely new framework for living. This includes a remedy for worry:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” –Matthew 6:33-34

What can we pull from this passage that can help us relax and simply be in this moment?

Seek God's Kingdom

Look to the Lord and His heart through prayer. Get in His Word, get quiet and listen to what He wants to say. Starting our day with God gives us the grace we need to go through the morning, and an anchor to hold to when we are tempted to veer away when the worries and what if’s come circling.

“You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.” –Jeremiah 29:13

Make Your Requests 

We can quickly shift our minds to the things that bring worry and the toil that takes us down a tailspin of anxiety. We want to know we will be provided for, and that we will have the means to provide. God knows what we need. He wants us to come to Him and make our requests known, then to leave that request at His feet and trust Him to take care of us.

“Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” –Philippians 4:6

Focus on the Present

Tomorrow has enough worry and trial that will inevitably come. Why heap that on top of today’s troubles? Make it your ambition to go throughout today and look for things you’re grateful for. See where God is at work, and notice. Thank Him for His presence and provision, and believe this will be a continuing thing as day by day, you learn to lean into Him and pay attention to the wondrous world around you.

“This is the day the Lord has made;
let’s rejoice and be glad in it.” –Psalm 118:24

When we realign our hearts and minds with a Kingdom perspective, a lot of our distractions dissolve. Our lives will reflect God as we love a struggling teammate rather than attempt to outperform him in the weight room. It will bring peace as we stop checking our messages incessantly to see if that bigger school is interested in hiring us for the head coaching role and instead focus in on the team we’re currently coaching.

Relax. Give your cares to God. Pay attention. Take time to slow down and notice the people and places around you. God is in this moment, and this moment is all you have. Live in it. 

Read the rest of the article to learn how to truly be present.

-FCA-