Your Most Important Moment

Each day you are given 86,400 brand-new seconds to spend however you want. Isn’t that amazing to consider? But here is the catch: None of that time carries over to the next day. It has to be lived in the present. Yesterday is over; tomorrow is not promised; you’ve got 86,400 seconds to spend today.

When I say that we can love and enjoy our lives, I realize that every day isn’t summer vacation and parties. But the obligations of daily living don’t have to steal your joy. Loving your life isn’t something that happens by accident. It is a result of healthy, biblical choices that you make on a daily basis.

Let me show you three choices that will help you maximize the moments God gives you.

Obey in the Moment

Obedience may not be the first thing that comes to your mind when talking about loving your life and maximizing the moment, but being obedient to God is one of the best ways to live a joyful, overcoming life.

One thing that helps us truly love our lives is when we let God work through us to help other people. All we need to do is be willing to obey God by following the gentle nudges from the Holy Spirit, and it adds a quality of enthusiasm to our life that is truly inspiring.

Love in the Moment

For many people, their days are ruined because of the way someone treated them. An insult, a rumor, an unkind word from a friend or a coworker steals their joy and sends them into a downward spiral. I was like that for many years. If someone said or did something unkind toward me, I would wallow in misery for hours.

With God’s help, I’ve learned over the years that I am responsible for my own attitude and happiness. I cannot control what other people do, but with God’s help, I can control how I respond. God has often reminded me that what someone may do to me that is unjust or unkind isn’t nearly as important as how I respond to their actions.

This is where “love in the moment” comes in. When we become people who love others around us on a daily basis, our lives are tremendously enriched.

Enjoy the Moment

So many people have the mentality that they will be really happy at some time in the future. When the kids grow up, when they get a promotion, when their finances improve … when, when, when. I can certainly relate.

I really want you to get this: God wants you to enjoy your life now, not at some time in the future.

For some reason, we tend to think that as long as we have problems, it just wouldn’t be right to not worry and instead enjoy life. But that is exactly what God wants us to do, and it is what the devil does not want us to do. One of God’s greatest gifts to us is that He enables us by His grace to enjoy life even in the midst of trouble and difficulty.

It is amazing to me that even in the midst of running the universe, God still has us on His mind. Jesus actually said that He wanted His own joy to be made full and complete in us (see John 17:13). Seeing this Scripture, and many others that are like it, settled the issue for me: God wants us to live a life that we love and enjoy!

This is an excerpt from Living a Life You Love, © 2018. Used by permission of Hachette Book Group. For more information on Joyce Meyer titles, please visit FaithWords.com.