One more day

A friend of mine who was diagnosed with cancer went home to be with the Lord 7 months after she knew of the finding. She was young, just finished medical school, and had a bright future ahead of her. I bet despite the hope of healing, death came across her mind. Even then, she was full of peace. A few months before her passing, she told me, she stays up until 3 in the morning because the Lord meets with her and comforts her during this time.

Luke 12:16-21 ESV

And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

We have favorite days of the week, for some it's those we're not required to work. How do we treat the days that are least of our liking? Perhaps we're guilty of ungratefulness, contempt, hatred, mediocrity, or unfruitfulness. I heard one person say he's ready to die the moment he wakes up because he's just tired of working. The rich man in the parable thought he had everything figured out until the Lord showed him who was in charge of his life. Because the average life span is 70-80 years old, sometimes we get too comfortable with our daily lives, we think we have more time. The reality is we are not promised tomorrow. The treasures we laid up for ourselves are not guaranteed to be at our disposal, because after all, they belong to God. Yes, we worked hard for them, but the Lord gave us the gift of life, time, strength, wisdom, skills, and health to accomplish all those.

Psalm 90:12 ESV

So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Lord, teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.

Every passing day gets us closer to the end. Frightening as it may seem, it's the reality that will eventually dawn on us all. Each one of us will give an account to the One who gifted us our days. The more we remind ourselves of this, hopefully, the better stewards we become of our own life and the lives entrusted to our care. Beloved, I pray that the Lord will show you how precious your life is and that each moment is a gift. We cannot take back the wrongs we committed but until we have breath, we can still come to God and ask for the heart of wisdom to make our every day a service to Him.

Philippians 1:21-26 ESV

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

There is gain in living and departing and we find that in Christ. As we number our days, we can have joy in our sorrow, knowing that our suffering is but a momentary affliction and the days to come will be without pain. We can prevent being drawn to the world and it's temporary benefits because what awaits is nothing we have ever imagined.

We can only do so much in this lifetime. We can live 100 years only to find the end shallow and discontenting or we can have short satisfying days for we allowed God to lead us to its fullness. I hope today you ponder your life's purpose. I pray that you wake up reminding yourself the many reasons you must thank the Lord, mostly for the things you might have taken for granted. I hope you won't have fear coming towards the end because your confidence is in the Lord.

If given one more day, how will you make it fruitful for Christ?

Inspiration

"What have I done?"

Jeremiah 8:6

by C.H Spurgeon

Sermon delivered December 27, 1857

"Scores of times you have wept under discourses, and yet all has been in vain, for you are what you were. I beseech you, answer this question, "What have I done?" for, remember, there will be a time when you will ask this question, but it will be too late."

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I praise You for the gift of life. Sometimes I open it with joy, other times with ungratefulness. Glory to You for the mercy that is new every morning. Forgive me for the times I look at my life and find sin, envy, hate, unforgiveness and unfruitfulness. I pray for revival. I pray that you help me have a transformed heart and mine that will seek to please You and delight in You everyday. All that I have, my family, career, health, friends, ministry belong to You. Make me fruitful and focused on each of them, to draw myself closer to Your truth and bring others to You. Lord, thank You for one more day. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

In grace & mercy