Day 8191:
Teach me to number my days. Maybe the psalmist grasped something that we
often forget. We are frail, mortal beings in a harsh and finite world. Only by
God’s grace do we see another day.
Lord, teach me to number my days. It is a reminder not to
waste away the time I have been given today to bring God glory. It is a
reminder of the temporary nature in which we exist for now. But it also reminds
me that we are looking forward to heaven. These days will not be all that we
have but rather they are a set time appointed here on earth and if we use them
well there will be much rejoicing in heaven.
So how do we live out these days? Earlier today I was at a
Bible study where we were looking at John 15. “Abide in me.” Jesus says that an
important aspect of the Christian’s life is to abide in him. Abide in His love.
If we understand the way that Jesus loved us we will be better able to love
others because we love because He first loved us.
Jesus talks more about the vine and branches and wraps up
the thought with saying that he had said these things that His joy may be in us
and that our joy may be full (15:11)
So what does it mean that our joy may be full? James 1 talks
about joy during times of trails. My thoughts have been that joy comes from
hope. We can persevere through trials of all kinds if we have a greater hope
that we are looking forward to. Joy comes from the hope. Joy surpasses the
happiness and smiling. Joy goes deeper than the surface and the droughts of
trials are not threats to the tree that grows there. Rejoicing is the action of
this joy. It is the flowers that refresh in the spring, the steady green leaves
despite the heat of the desert.
(Philippians 4) Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it
again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be
evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not
be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Rejoice, the Lord is near, He is our hope. He is our strength
and in Him we are able to find joy and actually rejoice in times where it would
be natural to respond with anxiety and worry.
There is a way to respond to the world without worry that
isn’t what God is calling us to. The apathetic response of I can’t do anything
anyways... attitude isn’t what Paul is going for. Rather it is a response that
recognizes the battle has already been won and we are able to live and serve
out of that victory for the rest of eternity.
So this joy, this deep, unshakable hope and expectation of
what is to come, bubbling up and spilling over, giving life to all that surround
it. An almost giddy expectation when we realize the little part that we get to
play in this grand scheme of things.
So teach me to number my days so that I may serve to the
greatest of my ability with the joy bubbling up out of me because I am firmly
rooted in this hope:
That to live is for Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians
1)
