One at a Time!

It is now March, which means all my sports fans out there know that its March Madness time! It is one of my favorite times of year as you get to see upsets and cinderella stories take down giants!  You may think I'm going to start talking about David and Goliath...but you would be wrong.  Maybe I'll save that for another post.I'm currently watching a smaller conference tournament where the favorite and highest seeded team is struggling with the lowest seeded team.  When this happens, sometimes people blame it on "looking ahead" or "overlooking the opponent."  In other words, people believe that in anticipation of a bigger game in the future, the stronger team underestimates their opponent and has some sort of entitlement complex that causes them to allow the other team a legitimate chance to beat them, regardless of talent level.How often do we do that in our own lives?  Have you ever wanted to get somewhere or get out of a season so bad that you stopped paying attention to the season you are in? Maybe you got a new job or knew you were moving, and stopped caring about the job you were currently in.  Most everyone can relate if you think back to high-school or college when you knew you were going to graduate and got a case of "Senior-itis" and stopped caring as much. But I'm here to tell you that the present moment is the most important moment, regardless of how good the alternative looks like.  Just think about it this way, you can't win the second game if you don't win the first one.Jesus was very good at this, He was always in the present moment, even when He knew what was coming, and believe me, He knew!The story I think of most often around this principle, is that of Lazarus.John 11:4-7When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”Jesus knew that there was going to be a miracle take place, and even more so, He loved Lazarus.  But instead of leaving the people He was with and immediately going to be with Lazarus, He stayed where He was for two more days, then left.  I fully believe that what He did in those two days and the people who He interacted with had their lives changed!  And what would have happened to those people had Jesus packed up and left as soon as He heard!So before you get overly excited and try to jump to the next season of your life or skip a couple of steps to get to the one you think is the most important, take note of the present moment and know that what you do there will impact the next season, and more than likely cause it to be more powerful.Think about this, if Jesus had gone immediately, then He would have healed Lazarus from a sickness which He had done numerous times, but as a result of waiting, He raised him from the dead.  I think Jesus made the right decision!