October 20, 2018

Priorities

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. – Psalm 90:12

A month ago, their priorities were different. We live in a world filled with college football and lazy days at the beach. Our lives revolve around high school sports and band, little league and soccer and dance. Work and errands and the daily busyness of life rush us along at a rapid pace.

And then the unthinkable happens and our priorities shift forever. It could be a death. It could be a job loss. It could be a major hurricane that destroys your world. And suddenly what you thought was important turns out to be unimportant after all.

We are a people who like to complain about what we don’t have. We are goal-oriented folks who are always striving for the next achievement, the next possession, the next thing we think will make us happy. We’re so focused on future possibilities that we miss today’s blessings.

Oh, we’ve always heard people tell us that. “Stop and smell the roses,” they say. “Count your blessings,” others add. We know it’s all true but we don’t actually do any of it. Until we’ve got nothing left.

Today someone’s priority was finding a place to live. Another person’s priority was diapers for their baby or how their child will get an education when all the schools are destroyed. Another person wonders how he’ll survive without his spouse. One person struggles to find a job, any job, just to keep a roof over his family’s head and food on the table.

Priorities. It all depends on where you’re at in any given moment.

One woman complained that her husband’s business was down and she just didn’t know how they were going to afford things. Really? It’s difficult to have sympathy for someone who lives in an affluent neighborhood, always drives a new car, eats out several times a week and doesn’t work. Her priority is maintaining her lifestyle. She’s never done without, she’s never truly suffered, so her priorities are different from those who have known those things.

There’s a good side to horrible things. Your priorities shift and you come to understand what really matters. Do you remember how Jesus told Martha, who was bustling around preparing a meal, that Mary knew what was really important? Why don’t we realize He was talking to us too?

Spending time with God each day should be our priority. It’s the most important time of our day. And, yet, we act as though everything else is more important.

We always plan to spend more time with people we love. We vow to volunteer one day. Maybe we’ve got a list of things we’d like to do. One day. Why not today?

What would happen if you gave up a Saturday and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity to help build a house? What would happen if you invited an elderly neighbor over to your home for a meal? What would happen if you turned off your phone and went outside and played with your kids?

Be present today. Put God first and the people He loves right after that. Take time to laugh. Be grateful for the small things. Smile often. Be kind. This world can be hard and cruel. Be the light. Show the world what really matters.

October 7, 2018

No Guarantees

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. -- Psalm 90:12

This is not the life he had planned. He had retired. His wife was soon to retire. They were going to travel and spoil their grandchildren and just enjoy themselves. And then she got sick and died.

Now he’s struggling to make sense of what’s left. He has to go on. He has to live what’s left of his life. But it will never look the way it would have looked had she lived.

Another friend is two months into unexpected widowhood. How could someone seemingly so healthy get sick and die within days? How does she reorder her life, care for her children, and look to the future when each day looks so bleak?

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. They were supposed to watch their children become adults, welcome grandchildren and retirement. They were supposed to grow old together. She feels cheated even as she seeks God’s will to go forward.

Should I go on? Another friend fought a hard battle for two years. Her son died. She will never be okay. She goes on. She’s got three other children. But how can she ever trust in tomorrow? How can she rid herself of this deep fear inside? One child died of cancer. Could she lose another?

We are people who plan. We fill our days with work and meetings and kids’ activities. We are busy people. We’ll get around to joy a little later. There will be plenty of time to rest when we’ve accomplished all that we’ve planned. We’ll have lots of time to spend with the kids then. We’ll all be glad of the nice home and all the stuff we’ve filled it with.

Until the day when life changes forever. If you’re lucky, you’ll get another chance to get it right. If you’re not, you’ll be left with deep regrets.

Another friend marked an unfortunate milestone last week. It had been exactly a year since her husband was involved in head-on collision. He is fine. The other driver, the one who swerved in front of him, died. She remembers the phone call, the frantic rush to the accident scene, then thankfulness that he would be okay. And the sorrow that someone they’d never met had died.

Life isn’t something to take for granted. We know that. So why do we live as though tomorrow is promised? It isn’t. Only God knows the number of our days. We should spend those days focused on what’s truly important.

If you died today what would your children remember about you? That you worked all the time? That your house was always spotless? Or would they remember how you played with them, helped them with homework, held them when they cried?

What would your friends remember? Would they consider you a hard worker and tough competitor? Or would they remember your kindness, your compassion, your laughter?

We don’t like to think of the day we’ll move on to our heavenly home. Oh, we want to go to heaven. Just not today. Or tomorrow. But that’s not our choice.

It’s always wise to plan for the future, to have savings and a good job and a welcoming home. But treat today as the treasure that it is. Be grateful for the time you have with those you love. Extend grace. Show mercy. Be kind. Today is a gift and tomorrow may never come. Live accordingly.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Replace Good Intentions With Action

Teach us to make the most of time, so that we may grow in wisdom. -- Psalm 90:12

Time is one of those elusive things. We never seem to have enough of it to do the things we must and we certainly can’t find enough time to do the things we should. So we wait for a better day, a better moment, a different season of our lives.

And it never comes. We have learned to fill our days with seemingly necessary tasks and to give ourselves to mindless things in a vain effort to find strength to begin again tomorrow. The days run on and on. Where, oh where, does the time go?

We meant to visit that friend in the hospital. We meant to take food to our elderly neighbor. We intended to volunteer with the Upward program. We planned to read the Bible all the way through. We intended to do something wonderful for someone else. We just never found the time.

And then our lives are over. Our health is gone and here we are with mounds of good intentions that never got done. Will never get done. Because we never found the time to do what was important while we still could.

This verse reminds me that the things that truly matter, those that have eternal significance, are worth my time and yours. We can turn the television off and read the Bible. We can give up a Saturday golf game or shopping trip to volunteer with one of the many outreach activities available through our churches and other charitable organizations. We can forgo a dinner out and visit a friend or neighbor or fellow church member who is sick or alone or in need.

Time is fleeting. May God always grant us the wisdom to find time for what is important. May we reach out to those who need a kind word, a visit or a call. May He convict us when we find excuses for not doing what we know we should.

Heavenly Father, open our eyes and make us aware of how we use our time. Let our moments be used to bring you glory and let our lives reflect your light outward toward a darkened world. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Trust God To Keep You Safe

"Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you." -- Psalm 9:10

I read a really interesting op-ed piece in USA Today earlier this week. The writer, Pastor Henry G. Brinton, made a good point. He seems to think we're trusting too much in metal detectors and not enough in God to keep us safe. I have to agree with him.

We spend a great deal of time and money on making ourselves feel secure. We buy alarm systems for our homes. We go through metal detectors at the court house and at airports. We have increased security everywhere. We pay dearly for it, I might add. We're even fighting a war to feel more secure. Many people have died so we can feel more secure.

But are we more secure? Not really. The only security we can and will ever have is the security we get from God. That's it. No matter how many metal detectors and security guards and spies we have, someone somewhere will find a way to do evil things. Satan works hard at it. Our security comes from knowing that God has already won the ultimate war.

We also don't have security from life's horrors. People die in house fires and car wrecks. Children get cancer and the elderly suffer alone. We trek to the doctor but he/she can't cure all diseases. We carefully buckle ourselves and our children into our vehicles but we can't avoid all collisions or the aftermath they bring. We could hide ourselves away and still not be safe.

I don't mean to shout the doomsdayer chant. In fact, just the opposite. We do have hope in Christ Jesus. It is necessary to take precautions for our safety. But it does, like Brinton wrote, cross a line when we trust more in our security measures than God to keep us safe. It's idolatry. We are trusting these security precautions as much as or more than we trust God. That's a bad, bad mistake.

Trust God. Trust Him. He will never, ever forsake those who seek Him. Sure, we'll still face tough things. We live in a fallen world. But we can embrace His peace. We can rest in His embrace. We can take comfort in knowing that we belong to Him and He will keep us safe.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

God's Warmth Shines Down

"Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days." -- Psalm 90:14

I woke up this morning to find the sun shining brilliantly outside. The cold, cold winter has faded for the moment and the warmer temperatures are such a blessing. Birds chirp, a newborn calf toddles beside his mother and all is right with the world.

Isn't it amazing how the sun and its warmth can turn our attitudes from dreary resignation to happy delight in the day ahead? The budding of God's plants as they look toward spring reminds me that hope is only a prayer away.

My heart sings with gratitude that we have a Savior who loves us, a God who stands with us and a Holy Spirit that lives within us. We are so blessed to be God's people. Thank you, Lord Jesus!