“So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 (NASV)
Did you know that the average person has about 18,000 days in their life to apply eternal values? We take about 23,000 breaths each day! The process of inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide is a complicated respiratory task that requires physiological precision. Yet most of us pay little attention to it unless, of course, something hinders us from breathing well. It might be fun to calculate the number of breaths we take in a given day, month, or year and then share with others what we find. It would be yet another reason to praise Yahweh God!
We have a tendency to praise God for the things that take our breath away, but we are wiser to steward every breath that comes our way.
The Lord is instructing us, through Moses’ only recorded psalm, to make use of our daily breath so that we can evaluate our behaviors in any given day, month, or year.
The Scriptures are replete with the exhortation to ‘look forward,’ but in this teaching I am encouraging us all to assess our lives by looking back. Below you will find 10 questions to help you do just that!
Isaiah reminds us to:
“Remember the former things, because He makes known the end from the beginning,” – Isaiah 46:10
These would be great questions to discuss with friends or family during the holidays. Better yet, if you are in a home group, leading a Bible Study, or interacting with people in your webs of relationships ask a couple of these penetrating questions. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised at people’s response and openness!
10 Questions to Reflect on 2018:
- Did you set God-sized goals?
- Did you pursue God-ordained passions?
- Did you keep asking questions?
- Did you make enough mistakes?
- Did you keep seeking God even when you did not bat a 1,000?
- Did you focus on being part of the solution instead of pointing out problems?
- Did you take steps forward in not repeating the past and making headway by creating the future?
- Did you seek safety and security more than risk and adventure?
- Did you find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can?
- Did you live like today is the first day and last day of your life?
In a couple of days, I will pose some thought provoking ideas about looking forward to 2019, so stay tuned!
If these questions are helpful, please pass them on to others.
Christianity is a participation sport not a spectator sport.
In Jesus,
Dale
dale@daleebel.org