Recently my family watched the movie, Armageddon. Gosh, that is such a great movie! (If you haven’t seen it, you need to – it’s included with Amazon Prime.)

There are many takeaways from that movie and without spoiling too much, the main theme of the movie is making most of the present because tomorrow is not guaranteed. 

That’s a bitter pill to swallow but it goes down easier when you’re slapped in the face with reality.

Anticipating a trip that gets cancelled last minute due to an unfortunate circumstance or an unexpected conflict with travel accommodations. 

Receiving results after numerous tests pertaining to a health concern only to learn you are walking through the worst-case scenario or just as worse, the results are inconclusive and more waiting and testing must be done. 

Laboring tirelessly at a job (or two) to help get ahead or even just to make ends meet only to discover your financials are going negative week after week because of the sky-rocketing costs that result from inflation. 

Running around all hours of the day like an unpaid and unappreciated caretaker, maid, nurse, chef, chauffeur, and counselor, tending to your children’s wants and needs while neglecting your own. 

There are many other examples I could give of dreams disappearing, fear of the unknown paralyzing you from moving on and moving forward, busyness becoming an obsessive business, and ya know, just the common happenings of life. 

The point is – if you’re not careful or intentional with how you spend your time each day, you may find your time expiring before you were able to make the most of it. 

That is my biggest fear right now. Wanting to do it all, enjoy it all, but worrying I may not have enough time to make the most of it all. To experience the best this life has to offer so I can complete it with honor and confidently know I fulfilled the good work God gave me to do. To hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:23) 

And yet, I find myself irritable even though I’m surrounded by goodness. There is something holding me back from pure joy and it is making me bitter, impatient, and selfish. I hate it. 

I often make myself pause throughout the day to capture snapshots in my mind of the scene that is surrounding me. I want to tuck those sights, sounds, smells, and smiles into the deepest parts of my heart and strongest parts of my memory. 

I want to be a present participant who exists in the here and in the now. I don’t want to miss a thing. 

I know this is Satan’s way of throwing me off, of making me indifferent, distracted, and caught up in checking off the to-do list rather than taking the day as it comes. He doesn’t want me to be present and following the flow of the Spirit. He wants me to doubt and question what God has for me today so I can be preoccupied about tomorrow. 

“Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?  Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you—you of little faith? So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’  For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 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 6:25-34 (CSB)

The featured song in the movie, Armageddon, is titled, “I don’t want to miss a thing,” and that’s what I keep coming back to. I don’t want to miss a thing God has to offer. An encounter with Him or someone He puts on my path. An opportunity to serve His Kingdom and give glory to His name. A chance to be a bold witness and a testament of what it looks like to have fearless faith. 

To not worry: “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7 (CSB)

To believe the plans God has for me: “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” – Romans 8:28 (CSB)

To trust God will provide: “We know that all things work together  for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” – Philippians 4:19 (CSB)

And know God will fulfill His promises: “Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful [to His word];” – Hebrews 10:23 (ESV)

I don’t want to miss a thing and I don’t have to. God will give me the time needed to complete the work He has assigned for me to do. Whether that be raising image bearers to become disciples who disciple or going on a vacation to rest and rejuvenate or anything in between, I am called to trust in God and walk forward as I follow Him. 

If you are feeling caught up in the busyness of life, are trap in the fear of the unknown, or are worried you may not have enough food or funds to get you through tomorrow, this message is for you and me – TRUST.

Worrying will not add a day to our life but it will rob us of the joy to be experienced today. 

We do not know what tomorrow will bring but we can rest in knowing the One who does (James 4:13-17). The One who made us for this moment. The One who won’t allow us to miss a thing of what He has prepared for us.