What is the value of a day?

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12.

A day is a mere sliver of my life, isn’t it? But seven days equals one week; four weeks equals one month; 12 short months equals a year. What have I done with the individual days that have made up that year? Does one day still seem so insignificant? What if I knew that today was the last day I had? How would I feel about the hours, the minutes, the seconds then?

A calling to be the bride of Jesus Christ

Jesus is going to return someday to take His bride to be with Him forever. To be the bride of Christ is the greatest calling on earth by far. If I want to be a part of it I need to be set free from sin. “Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.” 2 Peter 3:14.

Every day of this life needs to count if I am going to be worthy of eternal life with Jesus. I need to use each day to gain that which has eternal value. To change from the way I am as a human and be conformed into the image of Christ. (Romans 8:29) Without spot and blameless doesn’t have to be something that I see far off in the distance. (2 Peter 3:14) This can be something that I am working on today.

Choose to use each opportunity

Every day I find myself in situations where I have to make a choice. I know that I am being tempted to do something that is sin, and I have to make a conscious choice to say no to the temptation and instead choose the good. For example, I can be with someone who causes irritation and impatience to come up in me. “Why don’t they get it? Can’t they just leave me alone? Do they not see how annoying they are being?” These are normal human reactions. But I am not called to have normal human reactions. I am called to be longsuffering! And since I know that the urge to irritation and impatience is just a temptation, until I agree with it and consciously let it in, then I know that I don’t have to give in to it.

Later on, I find something else come up. I am tempted to impure thoughts. A while later I am tempted to say something negative about someone else. A day is filled with these little opportunities. And every single time I can take up the battle against my human reactions, my human nature. My calling is to have divine nature. (2 Peter 1:4)

It may seem impossible to go a lifetime without giving in to sin. But you can go a moment without sinning. You can go an hour without sinning. You can go a day without sinning. You can go a week without sinning. There is no point at which you have to give in to sin. Just don’t give in right now and then time will add up!

From human to divine

I need to watch and pray so that I use the time. I can’t just float through the days without even noticing these opportunities. I need to be ready and eager to jump on every chance I get. Regardless of the fact that the old human nature is not going to be willing to be chopped off and tossed aside, I know that it’s going to be worth the battle. It’s not going to come easy, but nothing worth having does. I’m going to have to cry out to God for help and strength, but I can rest assured that He will give it to me. (Psalm 46:1) By His grace, all things are possible.

Then something happens in my life. Slowly, but surely, I will stop reacting in these human ways. Then the days become weeks, the weeks become months, the months become years, and I become a transformed person. I find that in situations where I used to be tempted, that human reaction doesn’t even come up anymore, and I become so happy. I know that my life is not in vain, that in losing my human nature, I am gaining divine nature. And as a reward “they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.” Revelation 3:4.

A day is time. Don’t waste it.