This week I was studying on our patio and my daughter came and asked me if I wanted to take a walk with her. When you are studying…and your 18 year old daughter ask you to take a walk…you take the walk.
On our walk…we saw some little kids playing in their driveway and the youngest was a little girl. She had this little pink tutu on and was running all over the place chasing her brother. My daughter said, “Awww how cute. I used to be little like that.” And I said, “Yep…and it seems just like yesterday.” It was one of those, “Where has the time gone” moments.
Time is precious isn’t it. Benjamin Franklin put it this way, “Time is the stuff life is made of.”
We were looking at some old pictures this week and I made the comment, “There are times I wish I could go back…just for a day (or even an hour) and hold my little kids.” But…I cant’.
Time isn’t a renewable resource. Once you use it…it’s gone forever. You can’t get it back.
It reminds me of the guy who went to see his doctor for his annual checkup and received a phone call a couple of days later. The doctor said, “I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.” “What’s the news? asked the man. “Well,” said the Doctor, “You only have 48 hours to live.” “Wow…that is bad news!” said the man…obviously shocked by the news he had just received. “I’m afraid I have even worse news,” said the Doctor. “What in the world could be worse than what you’ve already told me?” said the patient. “Well,” said the Doctor, “I’m been trying to call you since yesterday!”
I want to spend the next couple of Sunday’s talking about, “What a Difference a Day Makes.” And this morning…I want to specifically talk to you about Treasuring the Time You have Been Given.
Psalm 90:12 - “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
When you number your days…your days will count.
I’ve had some momentus / memorable days in my life:
Day Number One: Monday, January 25, 1971
Day 2922: My 8th birthday.
Day 5844: I got my drivers license.
Day 8132: Graduated from College.
Day 9193: I was licensed to preach.
Day 9359: I met my future wife
Day 9840: I married my wife.
Day 10,250: Our oldest child was born.
Day 11,187: Terrorist attacked the World Trade Center.
Day 11,204: Our middle child was born.
Day 11,664: Moved to Arkansas.
Day 12,159: Our youngest child was born.
Today…I am 49 years, 2 months, and 25 days old. I’ve lived a total of 17,995 days; 431,880 hours; 25,912,800 minutes; 1,554,768,000 seconds.
Man…Where has the time gone?
Doing and exercise like that…numbering your days…does something to you. It puts life in perspective. In fact…doing it made me realize all the more…the brevity of life and the value of every moment. And when you realize those two things…you can begin to develop a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12 - “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
If you want to live a life that truly counts…you need to learn to number your days. You’ve got to realize…come to grips with the truth that life is short and that every moment matters.
Now then…Each and every day has several things in common. Understanding these things…will help each of us better see the value in and to treasure each day we’ve been given.
(1) EVERY DAY - BELONGS TO GOD.
Psalm 118:24 - This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
God has entrusted certain things to us: Family, finances, physical bodies…and our time. God has given you today. This is the day the Lord has made. He made it…and He has given it to you as a gift.
We often talk to each other about “Our day.” But we are actually stewards over His day. This is the day the Lord has made. Each day belongs to God…He made it…and it is given to us to serve Him. We are all accountable for what we do with each of the days we’ve been given. So…we should fill our days with all the life we can possibly pack into them. Why? Because the day belongs to God…I need to certain that I make the day count. May we faithfully wake up and use the day God has us wisely…so that we can be all God has called us to be.
Let me encourage you today: Don’t settle for a mediocre life…where one day just runs into the next. Don’t settle for living a bland Christian experience. Don’t take TODAY…THIS DAY for granted. THIS is the day the Lord has made. He made it with YOU in mind! He has given it to you as a gift. Make it count!
(2) EVERY DAY - HAS EXTERNAL INFLUENCES.
Example: A few years back…my brother and his family were back here in the Ozarks visiting from California. We decided to go to Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. We spent the bucks to get in the park and after being there maybe 45 minutes…it absolutely began to pour down rain. It rained pretty much the entire day. We were soaked. We knew it would probably rain some…but this was above and beyond anything we could have imagined.
But…what I want to point out is this: Horrible weather doesn’t mean it has to be a horrible day. It’s not the weather than determines the quality of my day. (We had fun…we laughed…we all talk about the memories of that day.)
There are certain things in every single day…that are beyond our control. External Influences. (A rock hitting my windshield). It’s important to not all those things…the content of your day to determine the quality of your day.
(3) EVERY DAY - HAS UNPREDICTABLE CIRCUMSTANCES.
Proverbs 27:1 - “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”
Someone has said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re making your plans to do something else.”
Every day…there are things that happen tha you weren’t expecting to happen. Interruptions of life.
Example: When our oldest was in Kindergarten or first grade…my wife and I were out having lunch together while he was at school…or so we thought. In the middle of our time together…enjoying a calm and quiet meal…we got a phone call from our son’s school informing us that Parker had decided (on his own) to walk home during recess. Our quiet lunch together was over.
Did you know that most of Jesus’ greatest miracles were in fact…interruptions in His day.
Sometimes there is an unexpected accident. Sometimes something happens and it’s a pleasant surprise. Other times…it’s as though hell itself has invaded your day. Every single day…there are things that you don’t expect or deserve…things that you haven’t planned or scheduled…but you end up dealing with them anyhow.
(4) EVERY DAY - HAS 24 HOURS.
Have you ever said, “I wish I had more hours in the day!”?
It’s interesting to me…God didn’t give us all the same amount of talent. He didn’t give us all the same amount of wealth. But…there is one thing that He’s given out equally…and that is the amount of time in each of our days. (You don’t get 28 hours in your day while your neighbor only gets 12. You both get 24.)
24 hours…1440 minutes…86,400 seconds. 1 Day. No matter who you are…regardless of your situation in life…every person has as much time in their day as the next person does. Bill Gates can’t buy more minutes…He gets no more hours in his day than you or I do. No matter who you may be…where you may life…what you may do…Every day…has 24 hours.
(5) EVERY DAY - COULD BE YOUR LAST.
Lenny went on vacation and asked Bobby to watch over his house. About a week later, Lenny calls home and asked "How's my cat?"
Bobby hesitated and sadly told Lenny his cat died.
"What?! You shouldn't have broken the news to me like that! You should have done it slowly. The first time I called, you should have told me she was on the roof. The second time I called, you should have said there was no way to get her down. The third time I called, you should have told me that you tried to get her off the roof, but she fell down and died," explained Lenny.
Bobby apologized and went about his day.
About a week later, Lenny called again and asked "How's my Granny?"
There was a long silence and then Bobby replied. "Well, she's on the roof."
We seem to value time most at death…because it’s pretty clear that time is running out. Most days…we live as though we have time to spare. We “kill” time. But the reality is…we aren’t even guaranteed tomorrow.
In Luke 12, Jesus tells the story of the Rich Fool. In the story, a rich man produces a huge crop. It’s a record harvest. In fact…it’s so big that he doesn’t even have enough space to store it. So…he decides to tear down the barns he has and build bigger and better ones. He says to himself, “Man…I’ll be set for years…no worries. I’ll work hard now and then I’ll just sit back and enjoy it all. I’ll spend the rest of my years eating, drinking, and being merry!” So…he has all of these plans…but God says to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you’ve prepared for yourself.”
We’re not told the age of the Rich Man. But…if I were guessing…I’d say he’s younger rather than older. When you’re young…it’s easy to live like tomorrow’s a guarantee…as though it’s “in the bag”…a certainty. But…none of us are guaranteed tomorrow.
Knowing that…shouldn’t cause us to give up in despair. Resign ourselves to fate. On the contrary…it ought to motivate us to action. These 24 hours…TODAY…is really the only day you have any real power over. That doesn’t mean you or I should live ignorant of tomorrow. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t prepare yourself for the future. It just means…we need to truly value TODAY…because our time on earth is limited.
If there’s something you want to accomplish…if there’s something you’ve put off saying to someone you love…don’t put those things off for a better day. Don’t neglect those things that are truly important. Don’t put them off. Make TODAY…this gift of 24 hours…count.
(6) EVERY DAY - IS SIGNIFICANT
The quality of your tomorrow is a result of what you do today.
When I “numbered” my days…there were a whole bunch of days for which I didn’t have the foggiest memory of what took place. As a whole…most of my life has been made up of seemingly uneventful days. But that doesn’t mean that those days were irrelevant. In fact…the oppposite is true.
The way I approach all the “normal” / “routine” days…the decisions I’ve made on all of those seemingly insignificant days have determined the quality of the live I now live and enjoy. WIthout question…there have been some big days in my life that have helped to shape who I am….but the substance of my life…the meat of who I am…is built out of being faithful in all of those ordinary days…most of which I can’t even remember.
There are a lot of people who never achieve their potential because of how they approach the ordinary days. Every day…has great power in your life…and is filled with opportunity and potential. Every day really does count. They matter. They are valuable. They mean something. Each day…accumulates. What you’ve done and what you haven’t done…accumulates to the next. By building the right kind of days…you can build the right tomorrows.
CLOSING
Late one night…a man was walking home…alone…along the shores of a certain river. It was very dark…only the dim light of a partial moon bleakly lit the path before him. There in the darkness…he stumbled upon a bag and picked it up. It was obvious as he picked it up that the bag was filled with stones. Before long…he began to throw the stones one by one into the river…to help pass the time. Each time he threw one…he enjoyed listening in the darkness…hearing the ‘ker-plunk’ of each stone breaking the water’s surface. After quite some time…this man arrived home with only two stones left in the bag…closed the door behind him…and laid the nearly empty bag on the kitchen table where he proceeded to empty it’s remaining contents. It was then…as he lifted the bottom of the bag…that he discovered that what he thought were stone filling the bag…had been diamonds.
Like that man…we often don’t realize the value of something until it’s too late. Our moments in time…the days that God gives us…are precious jewels…each holding great value…each to be treasured.
Time is a jewel…treasure every moment…every day…use them wisely.
Will you pray this prayer with me today: “Lord, teach me to number my days…help me to value and to treasure the time you’ve given me…grant to me a heart of wisdom.”
