Make Your Days Count

“Man’s days are determined; You have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.”
Job 14:5 (NIV)

If you’ve ever participated in an Ash Wednesday service, you understand that the ashes are a symbol of our mortality. From dust we came and unto dust we shall return.  That’s a sobering reminder, isn’t it?  The fact is, our time on earth is limited.  Job 14:5 (NIV) says, “Man’s days are determined; You have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.”

No matter how much this idea makes you squirm, it’s a fact.  No matter who you are, how young or old, what measure of success you’ve attained, or where you live, mortality remains the great equalizer.  With each tick of the clock, a moment of your life is behind you.  Even as you read this paragraph, seconds passed that you can never regain.  Your days are numbered, and each one that passes is gone forever. Maybe that’s why Moses prayed, “So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 (NKJV). In other words, when we really consider the brevity of our lives on this planet, we will be more likely to make our days count!  

If you’re like me, you may be tempted to view this reality as harsh and unwelcome, to let it overwhelm and even paralyze you.  But that’s not my purpose – just the opposite.  I’m convinced that rather than inhibiting us from playing it safe, embracing our time on earth as a limited resource has incredible power to liberate us.  Most of us, if we knew we only had a month to live, would live differently.  We would be more authentic about who we are and more deliberate about how we spend our time.  But such a contrast begs the question: what keeps us from living this way now?

Let me get personal for a moment. If you knew you had one month to live, how would you live differently?  I want to challenge you in your Lenten Journey to live these 40 days as if they were your last and to write down what happens in a journal. As you begin, ask yourself if you were to look back on your life, what would you regret most for not doing? Faith is spelled R-I-S-K. But I’m discovering the greater risk is not stepping out in faith at all and living with the regret of not experiencing what only God can do! God desires to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine!

So let me challenge you. Be brutally honest with yourself.  Your time on earth is limited.  Shouldn’t you start making the most of it?  Before you come to the end of your days, make all your days count! Embrace the moments and live fully in the season God has you in now. Begin each day with Him. Walk with Him through your day and look for where He is at work in your life and around you. Make it a faith journey as you cultivate a deeper and more intimate relationship with Jesus!

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To read this devotional online or catch up on past ones, visit https://kerryshook.org/blog.

Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.

Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.