“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 As a pastor, my responsibilities include one thing I dislike - perform funerals. In the last twelve months, I have performed thirteen of them. Even now, as I write this devotional, I find myself traveling to speak at the funeral of one of my heroes of the faith. These are challenging times indeed, but they are also vivid reminders that life is precious. We aren’t guaranteed our next breath or are made aware of the exact amount of time we have left on this earth. Because of this, we must make the most of every moment given to us; we never know when this life could move on to the next. I think this is why Moses had such a sobering revelation when he wrote: Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
If you are waiting for a life-altering situation to jump-start your heart, you are missing out on all that life has to offer right now. This fact should compel us to embrace every moment and not miss out on what matters most. Too many people are living in a blinded reality by forgetting how precious life is. But if you talk to anyone who has lost someone close, they will fill you in on the seriousness of the matter.
“To get the most out of this life, we need to live with the daily knowledge that we have an expiration date.”
1. Embrace The Present
The past is gone, the future is not yet come, but what we do have now is the present. It is the only thing we can truly control. Many people are so busy living in the past; they miss what they have today. Some are so busy living for the future that they miss out on what they have around them today. Pessimistic people are usually stuck in the past, while optimistic people in the future.
Conversely, those who embrace the present get the most out of life. Never lean too far into the past or too far into the future –lean in to where you are now. Maximize what you have around you. Hug your kids a little more, kiss your spouse a little longer.
2. Worrying
Worrying is wasteful. I often say, “When we are focused on what we don’t have, we miss what we do have.” Worrying does nothing but waste opportunity. It doesn’t add anything to your life–it only takes away. The word worry comes from the Old High German word, wurgen, meaning “to strangle, constrict, choke.” Worrying chokes out your ability to embrace what you have. Remember what Jesus taught us: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:25-34.
When we are focused on what we don’t have, we miss what we do have.
3. Give What You Have
Life is too precious not to do what you are gifted to do. Your talents, skills, and gifts are to be used, not collect dust. Don’t wait to do everything before you do something. If you wait to do something until you can do everything, you won’t do anything. Just start with what you can do. It’s not always the big things that make the most significant difference. Sometimes it’s the small things that have the greatest impact. Don’t focus on what you can’t do; focus on what you can do. Consuming your mind with your limitations only keeps you from doing something unique.
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Luke 12:48.
“If you wait to do something until you can do everything, you won’t do anything.”
Have blessed week,
Pastor (Rev. Elias Limones)
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