Greetings, Precious Family. May the Peace of the Lord be with you always.
Family, lately I have been thinking about time.
I have found myself looking at my days and wondering if I am using them wisely. There are things I want to accomplish. Gifts God has given me that I want to use. People I want to serve. Responsibilities that must be fulfilled. And above all, I want my life to bring glory to God.
Each morning that we open our eyes is a gift.
It is another day that God has graciously placed into our hands.
But somewhere along the way, I began to wonder if using my days wisely meant somehow finding a way to do more with them.
Then I remembered the words of Psalm 90:12:
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
Family, notice what the Scripture asks God to give us.
Wisdom.
Perhaps numbering our days isn’t about seeing how much activity we can fit into twenty-four hours.
Perhaps it is about asking God for the wisdom to know what belongs within them.
There are only twenty-four hours in a day. God knows that because He created the day. He also created us.
He knows that we need time to work.
Time to serve.
Time to love.
Time to worship.
Time to create.
Time to laugh.
Time to simply be still.
And yes, Precious Family, He knows that these bodies He created also need time to rest.
1st Peter 4:10 reminds us that each of us has received gifts that we are called to use in service to others as faithful stewards of God’s grace.
I want to use every gift God has placed within me.
But I am beginning to understand something.
I am not only a steward of my gifts. I am also a steward of the vessel carrying them.
What good is having a gift if I continually exhaust the person God entrusted to carry it?
What good is filling every available hour if I become so tired that I cannot be fully present for the very assignments God has given me?
Maybe redeeming the time does not always mean doing more.
Maybe sometimes it means doing what God has given us to do and then having the wisdom to say: “That is enough for today.”
There will always be something else that could be done.
Another task.
Another email.
Another load of laundry.
Another project.
Another person who needs something.
Another goal waiting for our attention.
But eventually, today must come to an end.
And ending the day does not mean we have failed to use it well.
Sometimes going to bed is stewardship.
Sometimes putting something down until tomorrow is wisdom.
Sometimes rest is how we prepare ourselves to faithfully carry tomorrow’s assignment.
Family, perhaps the question we should ask each morning is not simply:
“What do I need to accomplish today?”
Perhaps we should ask:
“Abba, what have You placed in my hands today?”
And throughout the day:
“Give me wisdom to know what deserves my yes.”
Then, when evening comes:
“Give me peace to know when I have done enough.”
Because a life lived for the glory of God is not measured by how exhausted we are when we finally collapse into bed.
It is measured by faithfulness.
Faithfulness with our time.
Faithfulness with our gifts.
Faithfulness with our responsibilities.
Faithfulness with our bodies.
Faithfulness with our relationships.
Faithfulness with our rest.
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
Abba, teach us.
Teach us how to live the days You have given us.
Teach us how to use the gifts You have placed within us.
Teach us when to work and when to rest.
Teach us when to say yes and when to say, “Enough for today.”
And when this day is over, may we be able to lay our heads down in peace knowing:
I gave God what belonged to Him today.
And if He graciously gives us tomorrow, we will rise and offer Him that day too.
Let Us Pray
Abba,
Thank You for today.
Before I accomplished anything, before I served anyone, before I checked one thing off my list, You gave me the precious gift of opening my eyes and seeing another day.
Thank You.
Father, teach me to number my days.
Teach me to remember that my time belongs to You. My gifts belong to You. My talents belong to You. My calling belongs to You. Even this body that carries me from assignment to assignment belongs to You.
I want to be a faithful steward of all that You have placed in my hands.
But Abba, please teach me that faithfulness does not always mean doing more.
Give me wisdom to know what deserves my yes today.
Give me discernment to recognize what can wait until tomorrow.
Give me courage to put something down when You say, “That is enough.”
And please, Father, free me from the guilt that sometimes comes when my body needs to rest.
Remind me that I am not only a steward of the gifts You have placed within me; I am also a steward of the vessel You have chosen to carry them.
So teach me how to care for both.
When it is time to work, help me work faithfully.
When it is time to serve, help me serve lovingly.
When it is time to create, let me create from the gifts You have placed within me.
When it is time to worship, let everything else become quiet so that my heart can turn completely toward You.
And when it is time to rest, Abba, teach me to rest without guilt.
At the end of each day, help me resist the temptation to measure my worth by everything I finished.
Instead, let me ask one simple question:
“Abba, was I faithful with what You placed in my hands today?”
And when I have done what You asked of me, quiet my heart.
Turn off the noise.
Settle my thoughts.
And whisper to Your daughter,
“Enough for today. Come and rest.”
Then, Father, if You graciously awaken me tomorrow morning, I will receive another day from Your hands.
Another opportunity to love.
Another opportunity to serve.
Another opportunity to use my gifts.
Another opportunity to glorify You.
One day at a time, Abba.
Teach me to live them well.
Teach me to number my days.
And when all the days You have appointed for me have been lived, may they tell one beautiful story:
She was faithful.
In the precious name of Christ Jesus, Amen, Amen, Amen.
Worship Video of the Day
Rev. Marcia Davis, BA, MA
Covington, GA (USA)
Sacred Journey Devotionals - Where Christianity and Metaphysics Meet 