Every Day

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

Last night I read a line in a book that goes something like this. "If we're not willing to wake up every morning and die to ourselves, perhaps we should ask ourselves whether or not we are really following Jesus." Those words hit me hard and have dwelled in my mind ever since. I couldn't read any further in the book. Thank God for grace, because there is a place I could never measure up in. But I want to.
I want every day to belong to Jesus. I don't want to waste my time. As I pondered what to write this morning, I saw the verse in Psalm 90. Again, a chord was struck and I feel convicted still. The rest of that chapter speaks of God and time and fear and wrath. Verse 10 says that our life passes quickly and is full of trouble and sorrow. Then we fly away.
A short life span, full of trouble and sorrow. How will we spend it? Will we number our days right? At the risk of sounding like a legalist, I believe that we should be dying every day to ourselves. Our desires and needs need to take a back seat to others. It is hard to do that, though. And yet that is the only sacrifice from us that will please God. We can't earn his favor through our actions. Yet, in Romans we are told to be living sacrifices. And yet it must be real in our hearts, we must truly die to ourselves. Otherwise, we've become religious and like the Israelites, our sacrifices are meaningless and God will find no pleasure in them.
So ask God for teaching to make every day count. Ask him to help you die to yourself. Jesus lived that way and he wants us to learn it. Then, as each day is given over to God and the Holy Spirit works through you, your life will change. You'll see what God can do, not what you can do.