Recently, a staff pastor shared a devotion in our staff meeting
about time. It was excellent and
dovetailed nicely with the Bible study I am currently engaged in, Restless by Jennie Allen.
I've been thinking about time all week. Obviously, there is purpose in making plans,
setting goals, and peering into the future.
But, what I've been dwelling on is the time given each of us in one
day.
I've tried to make a new commitment to living one day at a
time. I’m simply waking up each morning
with thanksgiving on my heart, reminding myself that this day has been gifted
me from my Father and it’s worthy of my patience and detailed attention. I’m asking the Lord to lead my day by
creating in me a mindfulness that will bring Him glory.
There was a time in my life when all I could do was live one
day at a time. When tragedy or stress
hits hard and rocks your world, looking too far ahead in life becomes
paralyzing and frightening. You feel
like you only have enough faith, breath, and strength to live for just now,
this day, maybe even that very minute.
Walking out your faith and trusting God’s presence and his sovereignty
takes every conscious fiber of your being.
One day is all you can handle, if you can handle it at all.
On the flip side, when things are going well, you don’t want
your one day to end! Capturing the joy
and contentment in our days makes us want more of the same. When are we ever satisfied with having just
one great day!? Thanksgiving pours from
our hearts, smiles are freely given, warm embraces and sweet conversations
replace a whirlwind of frantic activity when we’re experiencing the sunny side of life.
Realistically, there’s a rub, isn't there? It’s called life. We know we’re not going to have all good days
and we’re not going to have all bad days.
We experience struggles and victories and they have their way. But, each
of our days are important and hold a treasure for us to display. The treasure is God’s glory.
Jennie Allen pointed out this Scripture from Acts 13:36,
“For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep
. . .” One day, David’s life on earth
was finished at God’s leading. David was
a man after God’s heart and his life had immense purpose in changing the
history of the world. Like David, we
have a unique purpose to fulfill in our own generation before we fall asleep
one day. We can look back over the
course of David’s life and pinpoint many days of triumph and victory, as well
as failures. Yet, his life held extreme
importance to God’s story.
Paul’s urgency to proclaim the Gospel proved he understood
that each day holds eternal meaning.
Paul writes in Ephesians 4:1, “…I urge you to live a life worthy of the
calling you have received.” David lived his life worthy of the purpose God had given
him, through the joys and the pain.
Hebrews 11 reveals those who lived their days putting their
faith into action. People just like
us. Not to oversimplify the details of
their lives, but let’s consider these profound truths about one of their days. One day, Abel gave a better sacrifice. One day, Noah, when warned about the things
to come, in complete reverence for God, started building the ark. One day, Abraham started the journey to make
his home in a foreign country, looking forward to God’s promise being
fulfilled. One day, Sarah made the
decision to consider God faithful and was able to bear a child. Faithful servants of God admit that they are
strangers on earth. These people, now witnesses
of faith, longed for a better country, a heavenly one. And, because of that, God was proud to be
called their God.
One day, Moses chose to be mistreated along with the people
of God. Others conquered kingdoms,
administered justice, gained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions,
quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength; they became
powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
One day, others were tortured and refused to be released, some faced
jeers and flogging, chains and imprisonment.
Some were put to death; some were destitute, persecuted and
mistreated. The truth is, the world was
not worthy of them. Their one day filled
with steadfast resolve was their one day to shine God’s glory.
Jennie reminds us in Restless
that God is after one great purpose for our days. His glory.
“Glory is the visible expression of God’s character on this Earth.” Jennie
Allen
Every morning, if we have breath, God’s glory, the visible
expression of His character through us, the evidence of God in the Earth, is
the goal of our day. That changes things for me.
Yesterday, my day was non-stop. I had an early meeting in
Orange County (along with glorious traffic) that brought me back to the office
in the afternoon. From the office I
darted home to get in my exercise for the evening, ate, met with my daughter to
help her with a college exit interview, then engaged in wedding planning for
her, had to re-hang kitchen cabinets (yes, I did this!), then rushed out to
meet my kids at a local restaurant who just flew in from Washington. I needed to squeeze those grand babies! Driving home, all I could think about was the
staff devotion I needed to finish to be prepared for the next day. A time of prayer had to happen next. Not all of those events of my day were
planned, but they were needed, and I purposed to handle them with God’s grace
and power, and my day ended late and good.
God’s grace was sufficient for me.
I believe God received the glory for my day. I can’t say that about every day, but that’s
how I want to live. Our days are
fleeting, they are but a breath. They
matter in conjunction with God’s grand story.
Hebrews 12:1-3, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such
a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the
sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked
out for us. Let us fix our eyes on
Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him
endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the
throne of God. Consider him who endured
such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose
heart.”
One day at a time, I'm to fix my eyes upon Jesus. If
it’s a struggle or a victory, the ancients of old are our examples. They endured their days with grace. Their lives witness to what living a life
of faith is all about.
Jennie Allen said,
“Without some effort, we will waste our minutes, our days . . . our lives. So, putting thought into spending our time
and resources for the glory of God may be the most important thing we can do.”
I absolutely LOVE this illustration she put together.
“The story of God through Scripture + an understanding of
myself and my resources + taking inventory of the need around me + the mystery
of following the Holy Spirit’s leading = obediently living my purpose.”
God’s story plus a
clear understanding of my passions, creativity, and purpose, plus my mindfulness of the needs around
me in my world and beyond, plus the
complete mystery and beautiful gift of following the Holy Spirit’s leading by
being attentive and alive, equal ME
obediently living out, day by day, my purpose.
This is how I want to live every day, no matter if it’s a good day or a
bad day. Every day holds the weight of
eternity upon it.
The gift of a day holds a reason for joy…our hope of
heaven…living our purpose…running our race….showing God to the world….not
growing weary….staying motivated by faith…finding and doing the works he has
prepared in advance for us to do….doing all in and through the name and glory
of God.
“Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed him
as his counselor? Whom did the Lord
consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or
showed him the path of understanding?” Isaiah
40:13-14
“Isaiah 40 describes the enormity of a God who sits above
the circle of the earth…It is not that we are insignificant. Rather, he is so significant that
comparatively, we are but a breath…He breathes in and out, and a generation has
already passed away.” Jennie Allen
If we have a day, it’s one day to offer as a living, breathing
testimony of His divine power within us.
It’s one day to show the world, God.
It’s not a simple thing to do, live one day at a time. It takes purpose and unwavering trust in a
God who is all powerful, all knowing, and ever present. Proverbs 14:15 teaches us to be aware of our
days when it says, “The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought
to their steps.”
When I look back over the course of my life, I want God’s
approving statement to be, “For when Laurie had served God’s purpose in her own
generation, she fell asleep.” My age won’t
matter when I leave this Earth. The manner in which I leave won’t matter. Who I
leave behind won’t matter. All that will
matter is that I displayed the evidence of God in my generation. I’m not promised my tomorrows. I have one day, today. I want to make my day count. May God’s story continue as I live each day
I’m blessed with, revealing His glory.
“One
day, Laurie . . .”
