Mike’s Musings ….
WOW, This Year Has Gone by Quickly!
It’s already August! Schools open in less than a week. Many congregations have already made their plans for fall gospel meetings. Fields of corn are showing a drying trend from the ground up which is common by August. Beanfields are starting to fill their pods, and soon we’ll see golden leaves, then stems, then harvest begins. I heard of a few planning their wintertime activities and readying their homes for that season. It seems 2024 just got started and now we’re coming quickly to its end – maybe!
I’m reminded of the prophet’s words, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” (Jeremiah 8:20) Things cycle in nature as they do with humans. With nature, God said, “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22) For man, we tend to cycle through the seasons, and realize the difference is we’re a year older, and still living one day at a time. We don’t change much of our “routines,” albeit the “routines” get a little more difficult year after year. One notable thing is the swiftness of these days!
I muse of Job. His was not an enjoyable time as he lay suffering the immense afflictions of his body, the emotional turmoil of losing his children, his livestock, his servants, and his wealth. He reached a point where he says, “My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.” (Job 7:6) But remember: “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” (Job 1:22) How we admire those aging souls whose fortitude says, “I thank God that I can still get up every morning and take care of myself.”
While many of us consider that time has sped by so quickly, the reality is there have remained twenty-four hours in a day and seven days in a week. It has neither sped up nor slowed down. It’s how we’ve used the hours, and for busy folks, we’ve been known to say, “There aren’t enough hours in the day,” which is ridiculous since we can neither add nor subtract from the time God grants within each day! The question is, HAVE WE OBEYED GOD with the allotted time of our life? If not, why not? What priorities of your fleeting time of life are of greater importance than obeying God? Aw, there’s the problem: PRIORITY! God granted Solomon wisdom that he might guide God’s people wisely. Therefore, it is God who says, “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.” (Proverbs 3: 1 – 2) Doing this will assure that regardless of how long we live, the days will be lived in righteousness! Read it again at Matthew 6:33!