"So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom." - Psalm 90:12
I joke with my wife when I stop watching a game - football - golf - whatever the sport might be by telling her "I predict that someone will win and someone will lose." Another fact is that all football games are won at the end of the 4th quarter - or in some cases, overtime. A fact you can stick in your pocket - in 2024 only 7 of the 111 games played in the NFL went to overtime.
But a 4th quarter may not be as long as we think. It's 15 minutes in football - and 12 minutes in basketball. Most games are won and lost in the last quarter. Sometimes in the last seconds of the game. Sometimes when the odds said that the losing team was too far behind. Then, sometimes, a miracle happens.
For me and my bride, we are turning 75 this year. I liken that to the 4th quarter of life. 75% - well you get the idea. Actually only God knows how much time we have.
We must be careful we don't have the attitude of the the man who decided to build bigger barns -
"Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?" - Luke 12:16-20
We should live every day like it will be our last. Everyday we should give the day to the Lord saying, "not my will but your will be done Lord."
If you lived like that - I mean really lived like that - how would your life change. We are not promised tomorrow.
"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” - James 4:13-15
How does that truth change your perspective or does it? I said that we were living in the 4th quarter of our lives - but tomorrow the Lord may call the game for us.
Don Moen wrote a song called "When It's All Been Said And Done"
"When it's all been said and done There is just one thing that matters Did I do my best to live for truth? Did I live my life for You (Lord)?
When it's all been said and done. All my treasures will mean nothing. Only what I've done for love's reward. Will stand the test of time"
We should all live like we are in the 4th quarter and there is only time enough for one more play on the clock. The players are exhausted by the end of the game. It takes grit and determination to finish well. Same for us. My hope is that when it has all been said and done I can say ....
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." - 2 Timothy 4:7
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
No comments:
Post a Comment