Harder Family

Harder Family

Friday, March 13, 2015

Number Our Days

Psalms 39:4-5 "Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; 
the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure."

Tonight as we prayed around Wayne's bed, one of Wayne's good friends from Moody prayed that we would all number our days and that every day would bring glory to God. As I was driving home, I was reflecting on that statement. None of us knows how many days we have to live. Life is fragile and fleeting. The revelation of Wayne having cancer has made this even more apparent to us. We can talk about statistics and life expectancy, but those are just numbers. God is the only one who knows how many days any of us have here on this earth. Life can change in an instant. Anyone of us could walk outside tomorrow, be hit by a car and die. The accident I was in a few months ago demonstrates this truth as well. We were innocently driving to take a field trip and our tire blew. God's sovereign hand protected us, but I told the girls that the situation could have played out differently and it could have been our time to go. Each day is a gift from God and I think we all need to take time and ponder how we are living our lives. Are we living our lives in a way that brings glory to God? I think we too easily get caught up in the rat race of this world. Bigger houses, newer cars, designer clothes, kids in different activities, work, trying to look young, be thinner, worrying about being educated, etc. We get so busy trying to attain the world I wonder if we don't lose sight of why we are here on this earth. Psalm 39:4 says that our life is fleeting. We are compared to grass and flowers in Psalm 103:15-16, "Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone—as though we had never been here."

I think we need to ponder these questions: What are we here for? What is our purpose? What does my life even mean? None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. So how should we be living our lives? More importantly, who should we be living our lives for? Romans 14:8 says, "If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." Can many of us truly say that we live for the Lord? Sold out, surrendered lives, committed and unashamed of the gospel, passionate for God? Are we actively serving our Savior in His last commission to us? Matthew 28:18-20 "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” I know that my passionate plea to God for the past year has been for Him to use me and to use our family to bring Him glory. In the midst of this trial, I feel like God has been doing that. I was hoping to be used on a foreign mission field, but God chose this to be our mission field. I want to faithfully serve God in what He has called me to do so that one day when I face Him, I can hear Him say to me, "Well done my good and faithful servant." (Matt. 25:23)

God laid these verses on my heart tonight as I was driving home and I felt such an urging of the Holy Spirit to write these things. It is my prayer that people have receptive hearts to hear God calling all of us to number our days and to live for Him and not for this earth. God has a plan for each of our lives, we just have to surrender to Him and live to glorify Him in everything we say and do. 

Philippians 2:9-11 "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." One day, every single person on earth will fall to their knees and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. To some He will be their Savior and others, He will be their judge. How will you choose to meet Him? God loves us dearly. He loves us so much that He sent His only Son Jesus to pay the penalty that we rightfully deserve (John 3:16, Romans 5:8). God is Holy, Omnipotent, Magnificent, Faithful, True, the list goes on. There is no way that we could ever reach Him or earn His love. He is beyond anything our minds can comprehend. His splendor and majesty brings people on their faces before Him throughout the Bible. We have to understand that we are all sinners and we deserve to die for our sins. Jesus lovingly took our place on that cross. He died a horrible death as He bore our sins in His body (1 Peter 2:23-24, Isaiah 53:5). Praise God the story doesn't end there. Three days later He conquered sin and death and He rose victorious from the grave and is now seated at the right hand of His Father. (1 Peter 1:3, Rom. 8:34, Rom. 6:9-10). He desires a relationship with you and me, to fellowship with us and show us who He is. He desires that each of us know Him and that we bring Him glory that is due Him. 1 Chronicles 16:28-29 "Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;" When you behold God in the full splendor of who He is and realize the magnitude of your sin, and see the cross for the magnificent blessing it is, you can't help but fall on your face and surrender everything to God. 

Each of our days are numbered. How are you going to live your days? Wayne and I pray that every day we have breath here on this earth, that we will bring glory to God and praise His name. Psalm 150:6 "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."

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