The greatest lie any of us are sold is that what we do right now, in this moment, is limited to right now and this moment.
Yet, any great coach or player can tell you, looking back over a season or a career, that where they are right now is the result of hundreds and thousands of right-now, in-this-moment, decisions. Those who have accomplished much in the game know that every one of those decisions helped propel them on to greater heights. Those who are full of regret point to those same decisions, knowing how each one of them added up to affect so much more than that moment.
Still, the lie remains, and we buy it over and over.
Proverbs 7:18 puts it in terms of blindness to consequences in sexual immorality. “Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with caresses.”
The woman speaking in this verse has a husband, but he’s gone on a trip. She finds a young man who’s attracted to her and throws herself at him. She tells him no one will find out what they do, convincing him that the decision made right now, in this moment, will stay right now, in this moment.
Little does he know, the next few verses tell us, what it will cost him.
Before we travel down that path and buy that lie, here are a few things for us to consider.
What do I know about God’s word for right now, in this moment? Scripture touches either directly or indirectly everything we face in life. For every right-now, in-this-moment decision you must make, God has something to say. You don’t have to wing it. You don’t have to feel like you’re just making it up as you go. Consume God’s word and you’ll discover how much wisdom and insight are available for you in every moment, in every decision.
Do I trust God’s word right now, in this moment? It’s one thing to know it. Quite another to trust it. Will you trust the lie or the Scripture? The lie says you are in control of your life, that this particular moment is yours and won’t affect anything else, that you deserve to do whatever you want to do right now. Scripture calls us to trust God to meet our needs, to trust that he knows more than we do. It’s right now, in this moment, where you and I discover just how much we are willing to trust the Scripture.
Am I willing to obey God’s word right now, in this moment? In this temptation. In this difficult situation. In this opportunity to compromise. In this emotional state. When I’m thinking no one would find out. When I just want to do what I want to do. Will I obey the Lord, even when I can’t see the outcome? Even when his path seems less than desirable?
Lord Jesus, in every right-now, in-this-moment decision, remind me of your word, show me what it means to trust your word, and enable me to obey your word. Amen.
