Count Your TodaysSample

CONTROLLING OUR TODAYS

For some reason, we believe that we have control over today and a guaranteed tomorrow. We trust medical science and lifestyle trends to live as long as we imagine would be long enough. And in the process, we lose sight of the “today” that is in front of us.

King Hezekiah was no different. After Isaiah gave him the good news that he would live another fifteen years, he asked for a sign as a guarantee. “Meanwhile, Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, ‘What sign will the Lord give to prove that he will heal me and that I will go to the Temple of the Lord three days from now?” (2 Kings 20:9, NLT). And the Lord gave him a spectacular sign of turning back time (v. 10-11).

I don’t think many of us will ever experience the amount of certainty about tomorrow that Hezekiah got. And if we had that, I believe it would feed our controlling natures to even more unhealthy proportions. We already obsess over every new invention that can buy us more time on earth. We grab at any straw that seemingly has the power to take us to an earthly life of 100 years or more. And when someone who is overweight outlives one of our health-fanatic idols, we have many questions for God.

In the New Testament, Jesus doesn’t shy away from the issue. In Matthew 6, He reminds His disciples that no amount of fretting or fussing can guarantee them another day on earth. “‘Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?’” (v. 27, NLT). In other words, do you really believe that you have any control over your “todays”?

What measures do you have in place in your life to make sure that you live a long life? How do you think God feels about the ways that we try to outlive His plans for our lives?

Let us surrender our todays and tomorrows completely to the Lord. And let us acknowledge the One who holds all our days in His loving hands. “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered - how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” (Psalm 39:4-5, NLT).