The Joy of Being Fully Present

Living in the Grace of the I AM Within

And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM. Exodus 3:14

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. John 15:5

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Philippians 4:11–12

For in him we live, and move, and have our being. Acts 17:28

At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. John 14:20

The call to be here

For years, I thought spiritual hunger meant always wanting more. I called it faith, but it was restlessness. I was living for what could be and mourning what used to be, but missing what was right in front of me.

I believed God was somewhere ahead of me, waiting in another season or another answer. But the truth I have learned is this: God is not I was or I will be. He is I AM.

He is not waiting at the end of your journey. He is the Life within every step.

To live fully present is not to achieve a higher state of focus. It is to awaken to a greater reality, that the I AM, the Eternal One, is already here, not just beside you but within you.

You are not a seeker trying to reach Him. You are a branch living from the Vine. The same Life that was in Christ Jesus is flowing through you right now.

You are not trying to invite Him into your moment. You are awakening to the truth that every moment already lives in Him.

The I AM within

When Moses asked God for His name, the Lord said, I AM THAT I AM. That was not a phrase of mystery but a revelation of His nature, the One who always is, the One who fills every moment with Himself.

That same I AM took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. When He said, Before Abraham was, I am, He declared Himself to be the Eternal Present, God walking among us, showing what humanity looks like when filled with divinity.

And when He sent His Spirit, He did not send comfort from afar. He came to live in us, the very presence of the I AM taking residence in human hearts.

This means you no longer live as a person separated from God, reaching for Him across a distance. You live as one in whom God Himself abides.

Christ in you, the hope of glory.

You are not drawing near to Him. You are participating in His Life. You live, and move, and have your being in Him.

You are not trying to get God into your story. You are learning that your story is already wrapped in His.

That is why being fully present is not something you must do. It is something you awaken to. The I AM is living His Life through you right now.

Faith is participation, not striving.

Many of us were taught that faith means trying harder to believe. But real faith is not something you create; it is something you share.

Faith is not you holding on to God. It is Christ in you believing His Father through your own heart.

When Jesus said, Take therefore no thought for the morrow, He was not calling us to carelessness but to peace. He was teaching us to rest in the faithfulness of His Father, who is always present in the now.

Faith is not reaching for what might be. Faith is resting in Who already is.

When I used to pray, I was often trying to convince God to act. Now I see that prayer is not me trying to move Him; it is me being moved by Him.

Faith does not make God show up; it awakens me to the God who never left.

When I trust Him here, I live in rhythm with grace. Every breath becomes communion. Every ordinary task becomes holy because the I AM is living it through me.

Love that flows through union

I have sat beside my wife yet been miles away, thinking about what is next instead of who is near. She could feel that distance, and it hurt her.

I have done the same to God, bowed my head, said the right words, but looked past Him, wishing for another season. That is not love; it is quiet rebellion against what the I AM is doing now.

Love cannot exist in imagination; it only lives in presence.

When you love someone, you are all there. That is what love looks like toward God, not working harder but being fully alive to Him in this moment.

But even that love is not your doing. The love that reaches from your heart is His own love flowing through you.

The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. Romans 5:5

The Life of God within you is always reaching outward. When you are fully present, you are not trying to love God more. You are allowing His love to express itself through you.

This is the miracle of grace, not that you have become strong, but that Christ is being Himself in you.

Joy that is not earned but shared

Bitterness begins when I want what I want more than what God is doing. It festers when I replay what was or crave what is not.

Bitterness whispers, “I deserved better.” Faith says, “The I AM is better.”

Joy dies when we make it conditional. “I will rejoice when things change.”

But joy is not a reward. It is the fruit of shared Life. It is Christ living His own gladness through you.

These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. John 15:11

Joy does not come when circumstances line up; it rises from the Vine that never changes.

When Paul wrote from prison, I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content, he was not gritting his teeth. He was resting in the Christ who could sing through chains.

Paul’s peace was not resignation to fate. It was participation in the indwelling Life. He was not enduring hardship. He was experiencing Christ in another form.

To live that way is to find that joy is not what you feel when Life goes right. It is who you know when nothing does.

The cost of living elsewhere

Not learning to live in the moment has its price. It robs peace, drains strength, and dulls gratitude.

When we rush through our days or resent where we are, we rob ourselves of the beauty that is right before us.

If I sit beside my wife but look past her, I wound her heart. If I live always longing for a different moment, I wound God’s heart, for He is the I AM, the God of now.

He fills this day. He breathes in this hour. He is not waiting to meet you later; He is living this Life through you now.

When we learn to slow down, to breathe, to notice, to give thanks, we do not create His presence; we recognize it.

Being fully present is not laziness; it is worship.

Every flower, every breath, every laugh shared with a friend is a declaration that God is here.

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

The I AM in your pain

The I AM does not vanish when suffering enters the room. He deepens His presence there.

When Life narrows to a hospital bed, when plans collapse, when the heart breaks, the I AM is still there, steady as ever.

He is not the cause of pain, but He is the companion within it.

I used to wish Life away, believing peace would come when things changed. But the I AM has shown me that peace is not the absence of struggle; it is His presence within it.

To wish myself out of where God has me is to wish myself out of His will.

He does not ask me to enjoy every circumstance, but He calls me to believe that He is in it.

Christ in you is the assurance that nothing is wasted. He redeems what you cannot control and fills what you cannot fix.

Even in weakness, He is your strength. My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9

In your hardest seasons, you are not merely surviving. The Eternal Christ is expressing His own endurance through your humanity.

Awakening to what has always been true

Many believers spend their lives trying to get closer to God. But you cannot get closer to the One who already fills you.

You do not move toward Him; you awaken to Him.

Grace is not God occasionally visiting your world; it is the discovery that your world lives in His.

Every breath is communion. Every act of kindness is His hand moving through yours. Every moment, whether quiet or chaotic, is holy because He is there.

The Christian Life is not you trying to live for Him. It is Him living through you.

He is not far off, sending strength from a distance; He is your strength.

He is not helping you be wise; He is your wisdom.

He is not adding peace to your day; He is your peace.

You are not trying to earn grace; you are walking in it.

Of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. John 1:16

Living from His fullness

When you begin to live this way, you stop measuring peace by what happens. Happiness depends on what happens; joy depends on who Jesus is.

You no longer wait for a better day. You begin to see that this day, with all its imperfections, is already filled with divine Life.

You realize that contentment is not resignation; it is revelation.

It is not you settling for less; it is you seeing that in Christ, you already have everything.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:13)

You find joy not by chasing it but by allowing the Joyful One to express Himself through you.

You begin to see that Life itself is sacred, and that every moment is a meeting place between God and humanity.

Christ is still living in human form, yours. The Word who became flesh continues His incarnation through you. The same love that walked the dusty roads of Galilee now walks the streets through your hands, your heart, your presence.

You do not live trying to find God; you live as one in whom God lives.

The I AM is not outside you; He lives in you. You are not striving to reach Him but awakening to the truth that His Life is already flowing through yours.

Joy is not found in another season, another place, or another change. Joy is Christ being Himself within you now.

You do not chase the I AM; you rest in Him. The same Christ who walked this earth now walks it again through you. Every moment is sacred, for every moment is filled with Him.