“Teach us to number each of our days so that we may grow in wisdom..”…Psalm 90:12.
It’s Tuesday and I am looking forward to the weekend already. I have plans and I have lists and it is a new year. I have to put so much in savings, and lose so much weight, and organize my garage and have my granddaughter over for a sleepover, and cook dinner and pay bills….I have a women’s ministry gathering next week, and I have been asked to speak at the evening service at a church the last Sunday in January…
But THIS is the day the Lord has made…I repent Lord!
A Latin poet named Horace, penned the following infamous poem that contains “carpe diem” some time after the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC:
Don't ask (it's forbidden to know) what final fate the gods have
given to me and you, Leuconoe, and don't consult Babylonian
horoscopes. How much better it is to accept whatever shall be,
whether Jupiter has given many more winters or whether this is the
last one, which now breaks the force of the Tuscan sea against the
facing cliffs. Be wise, strain the wine, and trim distant hope within
short limits. While we're talking, grudging time will already
have fled: seize the day, trusting as little as possible in tomorrow.
given to me and you, Leuconoe, and don't consult Babylonian
horoscopes. How much better it is to accept whatever shall be,
whether Jupiter has given many more winters or whether this is the
last one, which now breaks the force of the Tuscan sea against the
facing cliffs. Be wise, strain the wine, and trim distant hope within
short limits. While we're talking, grudging time will already
have fled: seize the day, trusting as little as possible in tomorrow.
Someone once told me that we can be so busy we forget to take the time to be holy. We can get so bogged down in our own “stuff” that we fail to lift our head to see those around us. I mean I personally have a lot going on in my life to distract me. I am afraid I look at my Caller ID more than I care to admit, and try my best to limit things that vie for my attention and my time. So I try and I cringe for the fact that more often I fail than win the battle. I pray the Lord knows my heart and my desire!
Selah.
I am not one to make resolutions for a new year. This year is no exception. I mean there is a mark I am trying to hit daily to be more like Him and less like me. Some days I almost win, some days I lose, long before my feet hit the floor in the morning and most days it is somewhere in between which is all because of His unending grace and mercy and by His spirit and His power. And so, I trod down this narrow path and affix my gaze upon Jesus and not upon those things that line the edges of the path.
I do praise Him that the more and more I walk the narrow path, the less and less fallout remains from my “old man”, the one “before Christ” or the one that came during the season I just got tired and worn out. So amen for new beginnings and for His new mercies every single day!
I pray the same Psalm today that David prayed that You teach ME to number my days…
Selah.
Last Tuesday, I chatted with an old friend on the phone. Long chat, my entire lunch hour - catching up. She had been sick for a long time. She struggled and struggled with lots of things for many years, yet was resilient and hopeful during our chat. She prayed for me; I prayed for her. We talked about things like teenagers, and how proud we are of our children and of her upcoming 30 year wedding anniversary. We scoffed at how aging was anything but fun, and vowed to get together today…for tea…
And then, in the blink of an eye, she died……..my daughter phoned me and relayed the sad news of her passing on New Years day…….
Uncanny and ironic, isn’t it? Carpe diem….seize the day…Let us live today as it is our last. Let us live it for the Lord with all our minds and our hearts and our souls, amen?
Teach me oh Lord to number my days….so that I may apply a heart full of wisdom!
Please! I pray that every day is new years day for you, a new beginning, a fresh start. I pray we run the race, and make a difference, and hold nothing back today. I pray we thank the Lord that He DOES teach us that our days are numbered and that we can apply wisdom to our hearts!
If a friend calls upon you, answer them. If you need prayer, as for it, if you seek healing find it today. Take a step today to fulfill what the Lord has given to you to do in this life.
Whom can you love today? Whom can you bless? Whom can you reach out and extend the hand of fellowship to on this day?
Let us BE the church today - this day, Tuesday….
Go love on somebody. It may be THEIR LAST DAY; it may be YOUR LAST DAY…
