Be Here Now

I wrote yesterday about the importance of being present. Connecting. Engaging. Forming genuine relationships. Focusing. Investing in people. Getting involved. Being available.

But before we can do any of that, I think we need to actually find a way to BE STILL.

I think it's getting harder and harder to shut off the noise of the world around us and actually be still. We have so many distractions in life, one of which seems to be the ever increasing monopoly of technology. But it doesn't stop there. It's life in general. It's the "to do list". It's the tasks that we need to complete at work. It's the little children clamoring for our attention. It's the bills that need to be paid. It's the burden of illness; the overwhelming incurable disease. It's the unresolved fight we had that morning with our spouse. It's the voices of poverty. It's the next cause; the next social justice. It's the media hype. It's the celebrity glamour; the next fashion trend. It's the sideways glances of comparison. It's the I need to be better; the I'll never be good enough.

It's the regrets of the past.
It's the anxieties of today.
It's the what ifs of the future.

What would it take for you to let go of your regrets?
To trust that as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

What would it take for you to release your fears?
To fully cast all of your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

What would it take for you to believe that God loves you and will never leave you?
You cannot flee from His presence.

What would it take for you to silence those distractions?
To be still and know that He is God and find peace.

Last year at the Global Leadership Summit, I saw Blaine Hogan perform this amazingly simple skit that so effectively communicates what it means to let go. To surrender. To be still. To Be Here Now. You really have to watch it. It's incredibly powerful...

God is here now.

He has always been here.

He will always be here.

Now it's time for us to be still and finally, truly be nowhere else but here.