Tag: numbering my days

Posted in Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, wisdom

His Day, Your Day

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

This is the day the Lord has made; let’s rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

25,860. You know we ought to be grateful for each day we have because one of these days we just might not wake up. In the morning, I wake up, get up, make a cup of coffee, get the weather report and settle in for some time with my Dearest Daddy. That almost always includes several devotions from different people and sometime in prayer. I’ve learned that one of the easiest ways to pray is to pray some scriptures back to God. I might personalize and pray Psalm 37:23-24 this way, “Lord, I know my steps today are ordered by you and in fact my path is something you delight in. I also know that if I stumble and fall, that you are not going to leave me there. You love me too much to do that, so you promise to pick me up. Thank You, Father.”

I also like to pray Proverbs 3:5-6. When I do, it might go like this, “Lord, You tell me to trust in You with all of my heart and that I should not trust in my way of doing and understanding things. You tell me, in all my ways, that I am to acknowledge You, to respect You, to revere You, to declare the fact that You are God, and I am not. When I am willing to do that, You promise to make my paths straight—to give me the best path for me life.  Thank You, Father for that.”

I love those two scriptures but there is one that I love just about as much. It is found in Psalm 118, verse 24, and I might pray it like this, “Lord, thank You for this new day that You have given me—a day that You have designed and made. I know it is Your will that I should rejoice and be glad in this gift You have given me. Help me today to do that. Amen” This is a good prayer but also a challenging one. As you know, and I know, because of circumstances and life, it is not always easy to rejoice in the day that God gives us.

The other day I was thinking about Psalm 139:16a that says, “All my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.” Wow! How amazing is that. Equally amazing is the impact this verse has on Psalm 118:24—that not only is it the day He made—He made it with me in mind. You see, for me today is day 25,860 of all the days of my life thus far. Now get this…each one, including this one, God made and planned with me in mind. And what is true for me is also true for you and that means we can live in His peace and the confident assurance that He has us in His heart and in His mind. So, no matter what number day this is for you—enjoy it because—He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in birthday, Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful

James

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD and He delights in his way.  And even if he falls, he will not be utterly cast down because He upholds him with His strong hand.” Psalm 37:23-24

A couple of years ago we were down at my daughter’s house who lives near Murray, Kentucky.  They have blessed us with two of our eight grandchildren and if you know anything about grandkids, they are just a bunch of fun.  Matt and Jen live in the country near Kentucky Lake and my wife Judy decided we needed to take a walk.  Now if you know Judy you know she believes that people build houses for essentially one reason—to sleep in.  If you aren’t sleeping, you need to be doing something—outside.  Period.

So, naturally, we took a walk.  I was with my grandson James, and we were having an adventure.  Soon we were walking hand in hand.  Now, James, who at the time was six, is a very thoughtful young man.  So, eventually, he asks me, “Papa, what is your real name?”  Now I knew what he was asking but why not have some fun when you can?  So, I told him my name was Papa.  “No” he said firmly, “your real name.”  Well, I gave in and told him it was Dewayne.

He took a shot at pronouncing it and got close.  I thought that might be the end, but no, the best was yet to come.  He then asked me, “Papa (he didn’t try Dewayne) how old are you?  Well, that was a good question, so I gave him the answer.  “James,” I said, “I am almost 67 years old.” Again, almost without hesitation he said, “Papa, you’re almost dead.” I died laughing—no pun intended.  The Bible mentions something about out of the mouth of babes, truth comes, and I guess truth be known…there’s a lot more days behind me than before me.

It was funny then and it is funny now.  And it was true then and it is even more true now. As I pondered those words, it made me appreciate God in a whole new way.  I freshly realized how glad I am that God, and not disease or circumstance, numbers my days. As I charge headfirst into life, especially in years of uncertainty, I know if He didn’t have a hold of me—well, it just wouldn’t be pretty.   Only eternity will tell how many times He saved me from pain and suffering and the consequences of thousands of bad decisions.

Years ago, while reading the Bible, a passage jumped off the pages and into my life.  It said, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD and He delights in his way.  And even if he falls, he will not be utterly cast down because He upholds him with His strong hand.” That is such a powerful truth.  The fact that God directs my steps, that the path He chooses for me is cause for Him to delight and that when I fall, He’s got me…well, that is good, good news.  And the best part is, it is true.

As we get ready to leap into 2024, it’s good to know that we can have someone like God holding our hand.  If you are a Jesus follower you know all about that and, if you aren’t yet, He is just waiting for you to take the leap of faith. Why not give Him a try?  God’s not big about denominations or even religion but He is really big about loving you and He wants to walk with you into this New Year. While the number of our days is unknown and even how those days will play out are a mystery to us it is not unknown to our Dearest Daddy.  And when it comes to life, we can rest assured that He knows all about life and has it all under control.  You might say, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne