Today

 One morning as I talked by phone with my daughter, she said, “What do you have planned for today?”

“Nothing is on my calendar, but I will do many things.” After mentioning several of them, I added, “It feels good to have an open day and not have to hurry, hurry, hurry.”

After the conversation ended, I remembered this poem I had read earlier that morning:

 

Today

So here hath been dawning

Another blue Day;

Think wilt thou let it

Slip useless away.

 

Out of Eternity

This new Day is born;

Into Eternity,

At night, will return.

 

Behold it aforetime

No eye ever did:

So soon it forever

From all eyes is hid.

 

Here hath been dawning

Another blue Day:

Think wilt thou let it

Slip useless away.

~ Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher (1795-1881)

 

Although the language is outdated and the punctuation rather odd, his probing question is relevant today--and every day. Will we, dear reader, let God's gift of this new day "slip useless away"? Or will we thank God for it and use it in ways that please and honor Him and bless others?

Designed by Johnnie Ann Gaskill

Time Bears Us Away

Although the words in old hymns often seem rather antiquated, I do enjoy the thoughts expressed so beautifully and truthfully by saints of long ago. This morning, for example, I started my quiet time by humming the words to Isaac Watts’ centuries-old song (1719),  “O God, Our Help in Ages Past.”

Yellowstone National Park, 2019

The words in verse 5 captured my attention:

Time, like an ever-rolling stream,

Bears all its sons away;

They fly, forgotten, as a dream

Dies at the op-‘ning day.

Time does bear all of us away, at some point, doesn’t it? That’s why it’s so crucial that we ask God, as Moses did, to help us realize the brevity of life so that we may live wisely and well, so that our lives—brief as they are even if we live until we are advanced in years—will be lives of significance and service. (See Psalm 90:12.)

So Brief!

When talking with my twenty-one-year-old grandson, I mentioned several goals I've set for myself this year, including walking 7500 steps (3 miles) most days so that by year's end I will have walked at least 500 miles.

I went on to say, "I don't like to sit around. You've noticed, haven't you, how whenever I do sit down to talk or watch a few minutes of educational TV that I reach for the bag that holds my yarn and crochet hook? That's because I like to make every minute count--for life passes by so fast."

Later that same day, I read words written by Moses centuries ago and marveled at how true they still are. After he'd commented on how brief this life is, even if we're privileged to live 70 or 80 years, Moses said to God, "Teach us to number our days [to realize the brevity of life], so that we may gain a heart of wisdom [grow in wisdom, especially in regard to how God wants us to live this life He has given us]" (Psalm 90: 10, 12, NKJV). 

Indeed, our days are passing by so quickly. May we use each one for God's glory and the good of others. 

How Long???

So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?”

~Joshua 18:3, ESV

*****

Some phrases lodge in my brain and remain there for hours, days, or even years. That happened this morning as I was reading the Old Testament book of Joshua. The question above seemed to be directed to me and, thus, has lingered in my mind for hours and has prompted me to share it with you in case it’s a question you, too, need to answer.

Like God’s people in that ancient story, I’ve wasted many precious years “preparing” to do what God wants me to do. I tell myself, “One day I’ll be ready to take the big step and do great things for Him. I just need to learn a bit more and to opt out of some lesser commitments so that I will have time to obey Him.”

That's why I sensed God was asking me the same question Joshua asked. God has been extraordinarily patient with me, as He was with the Israelites, and has provided all that I could possibly need to do what He has asked me to do. Yet, I hang back, begging for more time to prepare in order to do my best for Him. I realize now that my fear has been holding me back, just as it held the Israelites back. That fear has another name, a much more serious one: unbelief. I have not fully believed that the One who assigned me a particular work will enable me to do it.

Today, I sense God is “putting it to me plain” by asking, “How much longer are you going to put off doing what I’ve asked you to do? How much longer are you going to come so close to full commitment to the work I’ve given you, yet fail to step out in faith and DO the work? How much longer are you going to let fear/unbelief rob you of the blessings I have in store for you?”

Father, forgive my lack of trust in You and my failure to carry out the work You’ve entrusted to me. I confess my sins of unbelief and disobedience and humbly ask You to forgive me and to help me to fully enter into the work and its subsequent blessings—beginning today. From this day forward, I will rely on this promise You made to Joshua when You assigned to him a daunting task: Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9, ESV).

There Is a Season...

Daily Agenda--Simplified!

Tasks and deadlines pile up faster than dishes in the sink, causing me to think, So much to do; so little time!

Thus, I decided to follow the instructions another writer* sensed Jesus giving to her: “When something comes to your attention, ask Me whether or not it is part of today’s agenda. If it isn’t, release it into My care and go on about today’s duties.”

For years, I’ve maintained to-do lists that contain the four categories shown in the sample below. However, mine never looks simple and short like that one! Instead, my real list is filled with short-term and long-term tasks to do ASAP. Thus, I’m overwhelmed by the sheer number of things (50 or more) I’ve listed and by the time needed to do them, as well as tasks that have become so habitual that I don’t need to list them (make bed, brush teeth, etc.).

But, after reading the above advice, I decided I’d create a second list, one that includes only the tasks I ­must accomplish today. I listed the things that I aim to do every day. With the exception of walking three miles, which I do throughout the day, I do all the others before the day “cranks up.” (Confession: Sometimes the blog post doesn’t get done, but I’m struggling to be more consistent.) So, I get up at 6:00 every morning to ensure I have time to do them. Once the “first things first” are done, then I add to the agenda, as the Lord directs me.

Working with a shorter list each day should produce the promised* simplicity: “a time for everything, and everything in its time.”

*Sarah Young, March 29^th devotional in Jesus Calling.