DETERMINED DAYS
Prayer: Dear Lord, As the year is passing along, please remind us of the things You want us to press in upon. Thank You for Your strength and vision. Amen.
Scripture: Man’s days are determined; You have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed. Job 14:5 NIV
One summer morning my son, Chandler, was out mowing the lawn. As with most teenage boys, this was not his most favorite thing to do. I am sure he was thinking about the many other things he would rather be doing with his time. On this particular day he seemed to be taking an unusually long time to get the job done. He was hot and tired and took several long breaks which drew out the process into the afternoon.
As the heat of the day increased, so did the storm clouds and the wind. It looked like we were in for a downpour and when the first few sprinkles of rain fell I wondered if Chandler would quickly abandon the job and put the mower away or if it would spur him to work faster and finish before the storm. With the way the morning had gone, my bet was that I would find him in the garage. I rounded the side of our house only to hear the roar of the motor still running and to see Chandler working harder and faster with a look of determination on his face to finish what he had been given to do.
What about you? How do you approach a task that really is not on the top of your “What I want to do” list? Are you the type of person who painfully draws out the task hoping it will go away or somehow magically finish itself or are you the type of person who hunkers down and plows though to get it done as quickly as possible? How much attention to detail do you give these tasks? Do you tend to justify your procrastination with a handful of excuses? “Well, I do not really know how to…” “You know, when I signed up to be an educator I did not sign up for …” “I have always done it this way and I do not see any reason for me to have to start doing it that way…” “Besides, I really do not see the need to…” Of course you know if I could think up the excuses for this devotional I probably have had some first hand experience using these excuses. The sad truth is they only made the task more aggravating. My stewing over the task or procrastinating only made me more miserable. Then, on top of the aggravation, I also ended up stressing over the little time I had left to complete the task.
For many of us Christians, witnessing to their unsaved friend, neighbor or loved one is one of the most frightening tasks we could ever be challenged to do. When asked to love and forgive an enemy, it seems impossible. To turn the other cheek comes with an expectancy of the sting of the next slap. The challenge to seek God with ALL of our heart, soul, mind and strength seems unattainable when our heart is burdened, our mind is slipping and your strength is zapped. But friends, today I want to remind you that our days have been determined, and our time is short. We do not know the number of our days or the number of anyone else’s days. We do not know when we will run out of time to forgive, love, apologize, encourage, or testify to the love of God to one who does not know Jesus died for them. We do not know our deadline, but each of us knows the task that we have been given. The time for dilly-dallying is over and like Chandler, it is time to be determined that we will not let a few sprinkles of fatigue or even storm clouds of fear stop us from the prompting that God has placed on our lives.
If you already know what you have been putting off, please share it so that others can be praying for you as you go forward. My prayer for you is that you would be determined to meet and complete your challenge.
Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected]