THE ORDERED DAY

“So teach us to NUMBER our DAYS, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” – Psalm 90:12

GOD wants every day of our lives to be a numbered and ORDERED DAY: “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psa.90:12). Temporal life on earth is the sum total of thousands of days. If we cannot deal with a day, how would we take care of years? In David’s reckoning, “the days of our years are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years” (v.10a). These total approximately 25,500 to 29,200 days, illustrating how brief the numbers of our days are! Every day is a gift from God, the stewardship of which will determine how our entire lives ultimately turn out.

We should never leave the day to chance. Every morning we awake is a God-given opportunity for a fresh start. To number our days means to account for their use and orderly investment. We must never start the day in neutral, because no matter how hard one revs the engine of a car, it can never be driven with the gear in neutral! A wise man says: “The moment your feet hit the ground every morning, tell yourself “today belongs to me; and I will make full use of it – I will register maximum impact on my environment today”! Waking up each morning, we may either see boom or doom, bright sky or dark clouds!

Experiencing the Ordered Day implies being proactive and taking charge. Although life is an accumulation of years, wisdom tells us to break the year down into days: “teach us to number our days”! The year should be consciously broken down into months, weeks, and days. If we deal with the day, the weeks and months will fall in place. To deal with the day is to establish a daily commitment to accountability. Our destinies are being framed by what we do daily. We must learn to see the opportunities, perceive the possibilities, and envision, count, and capture the prospects in each day!  

Like God did at creation, we must subject ourselves to the discipline of daily review: “and God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day” (Gen.1:18b-19). It is wise to take a few moments before the end of each day to reflect on what was done that day. Taking a stock of today would enable one to make the necessary mental adjustments for tomorrow. It makes great sense to plan for tomorrow today. God, apart from reviewing His work daily, always started in the evening. Part of seizing the days is rising up early and beating the day to it (Mk.1:35). Start the day before the day starts!

Each day might seem like a little detail in the tapestry of time, but it is irreplaceable. Every colossal construction is composed of many smaller components. The little details determine a structure’s strength and beauty. Every exquisite painting is a composite of thousands of single brush strokes. Every song is a composition of many notes. Every poem is a combination of many words. On destiny’s pathway, God does not usually propel us forward by giant leaps, but through little steps. Our future will be the sum total of our little daily habits. In a sense, we do not make our future across-the-board; we make our daily habits and our habits frame our future. The secret of our future is hidden in how we deal with each day!

Life is filled with daily opportunities. Do we let them slip by or do we seize the day? The Lord Jesus teaches the value of the day: “Give us THIS DAY our daily bread” (Mt.6:11); “THIS DAY is the scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Lk.4:21b). He said to Zacchaeus: “TODAY I must abide in your house…THIS DAY salvation come to this house…” (Lk.19:5b, 9). He would not postpone till tomorrow what could be done today. Let’s follow His example and not procrastinate. Then we’ll “rejoice and be glad all our days” as God establishes the work of our hands (v.14,17). Beloved, you can live each day as the ORDERED DAY.