Jump Start # 511 

Psalms 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.”

  This is one of the oldest Psalms. It was written by Moses. It reminds us that there are things we need to learn and be reminded of throughout our life. One of them is to learn to number our days.

  Long ago people did just that. Old tombstones would tell how old a person was in years, months and days. Every day counted. We don’t do that any more. Most of us just count the years. The years are made up of days. Each day is a gift of God. Each day is special.

  I’ve found that most of our days fall into one of three categories.

First, there are those special days that we remember. Weddings and vacations and even holiday times with family are like that. We love those times and take pictures to remember them.

Second, there are those terrible days such as surgeries, funerals and car accidents. They are stuck in our memories and we often use them as bookmarks of our lives. We say things like, “that happened the year of my big car wreck.”

Thirdly, there are the common, not so special days. The first two categories do not happen very often, maybe once or twice a year. All the other days fall into the regular, everyday kind of days. Getting up and going to work or school. Making dinner. Paying bills. Routine.

  It is the common everyday type of day that we need to live for Jesus. We have more of those than the other kinds. It is easy to just float through those days and not do much. I had a day like that recently. Did some reading, did some work, but spent too much of the day watching TV and really not doing much of anything. I guess that’s ok—we all need time to let the mind settle and rest the body some. For some reason that day is stuck in my mind. There are things I could have done that day, I just didn’t feel like it. The day was rather wasted doing nothing. I found that it was easy to do that. Sit on the couch and vegetate or play another computer game after another computer game. I found that it was so easy to do nothing, I think that’s what bothered me the most. I realized I could get in the habit of doing nothing everyday.  Days then become months and before you know it a person has spent a lifetime doing nothing.

  It is those plain, everyday days that we must not waste. We have more of those than the other kind of days. They tend to shape our habits and form our character. Here’s a few things I came up with for those many common everyday days:

• Start the day in prayer. A person never knows when what begins as a common day turns into a nightmare. One day will be your last day. Few, if any, really know when that day will be. Pray that you will honor God and glorify His name this day.

• Open the Bible and read a chapter. Just a chapter a day will make a difference. It puts the mind into the spiritual and connects you with God.

• Find something meaningful to do. Make some contribution to life. If it’s helping around the house, do it. If it’s sending a note to a fellow Christian do that. If it’s helping a co-worker do that. Be able to end the day thanking God for using you to make one small difference in a person’s life.

  Don’t beat yourself up for spending time doing something relaxing and something for yourself once in a while. Life is to be enjoyed, experienced and loved. All work makes a person weary and grouchy. But balance these things. Don’t justify staying in bed all the time nor watching TV all the time as “I need some time for myself.” Moderation is the key. Don’t overdo it.

  Number our days…you’ll find more common days than anything else. Days of work, housekeeping, car fixing, yard working, bill paying, grocery shopping than any other. Even in those days, we can make them meaningful, useful, productive and even fun. Each of these can be avenues to share God’s word. All of them can be used to glorify our king.

  Today, may be just one of those days.

Roger