Take Hold of The Day
"As long as it is day, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4).
Heavenly Father, You are the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9)—God without beginning or end. From everlasting to everlasting You are God (Psalm 90:2). But for mortals, earthly life is fleeting—they are like the new grass of the morning: In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered (Psalm 90:5-6).
Lord, we seldom stop to consider that in Your great wisdom, mercy, and compassion You set limits on this mortal life with its brokenness and trouble. For in the Garden of Eden, when the man disobeyed and introduced sin and death into the world, You had compassion on his loss of innocence—his new awareness of good and evil—and determined that He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever"(Genesis 3:22).
You set in motion Your plan for redemption, and restoration, and eternal life in a new heaven and a new earth when the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 21:1, 4). And You gave to all people and all nations a set time and a set place in history so that they would seek You and perhaps reach out for You and find You, though You are not far from any one of us (Acts 17:26-27).
Our Father, the wisdom of Your word counsels us to be mindful of the brevity of our earthly years. David prayed, My times are in Your hands (Psalm 31:15). Job prayed, A person’s days are determined; You have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed (Job 14:5). And Moses prayed, Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12).
It is in light of this brief earthly existence that the Lord Jesus urges us to take hold of the day—to fulfill Your set purpose, and to complete Your work before the coming night (John 9:4). O Lord, help us to heed.
We do not know when night will come, when no one can work. We do not know how night will come. Night may come in the form of war, natural disaster, or global pandemic. Night may come in the form of death, destruction, or circumstances we cannot conceive. We have seen foreshadows. Help us not to forget.
Help us not take time for granted. Help us not to take people for granted. Help us not to take our eternity for granted. Help us to seek You, and... reach out for You and find You. Help us to do [the] good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). Help us to be diligent... [to] give ourselves wholly to them (1 Timothy 4:15).
Your word tells us to make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16). Help us not to leave unclaimed the opportunities we are given today. Help us to love today, share today, reach out today, give today, gather today, encourage today, apologize today, embrace today. Help us to seize today—Carpe Diem.
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