I’m not sure about you, but I dread going to the dentist. In the past two weeks, I have been in the chair twice, once for a root canal and the other for a crown on the same tooth. The crown was today, and as I type on my computer keyboard, my sore mouth is reminding me that I should have taken better care of my teeth as a child. Coincidentally, my daughter Kim was at the dentist yesterday, and like her dad, she is not a fan of dental offices, drills, or a mouth full of invasive hardware.

Earlier, I texted with my daughter, and we shared our dental experiences. In our conversation, I mentioned to her that I don’t like getting older and that I wonder where the years have gone. Kim is 28 years younger than myself, and she commented that even at her still youthful age, she is already noticing how quickly things in life are flying by. Admittedly, I find that the older I get, the quicker time passes. Are you noticing the same thing?

If you are anything like me, I catch myself spending too much time not living in the moment. That is to say, I think too much about what I should have done yesterday or about the decisions I need to make tomorrow and next week? I know that, as a believer in Jesus Christ, I am not supposed to worry about the comings and goings of my life. Here’s proof.

Matthew 6:25-27 says this: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life.” (NIV)

Having read this scripture verse a few times, I still catch myself mulling over an upcoming doctor’s appointment. Here and now, I’m worried about my adult children, my grandkids and my wife’s health. Ashamedly, I spend far too much time stewing when the Bible verse above tells me to do the exact opposite. 

A bit further down in Matthew—verse 34, to be exact—Jesus tells us, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (NLT)

Plain and simple, I need to do better at living in the moment and not being fearful of the future or dismayed over events of the past. I’m guessing your head is nodding in agreement with your own circumstances. Just this morning, I watched a social media post from a 70-year-old celebrity who said, “I wish I knew at 22 what I now know at 70.” Her declaration? “Stop worrying.” I’m inclined to agree with her.

Let’s make a pact, you and me, with God’s help, of course. How about we try harder to stop worrying? Whatever your current situation, stop and say to yourself, “I’m going to trust God and live in the moment, this moment. Right here and right now.”

“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” (1 Chronicles 16:11 NIV)

We can do it. God has this.

Paul Smyth