Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser
Do It Today
Take possession of what grace has already made available. It’s very easy when the call of God comes upon our lives to think of a lot of reasons why we won’t respond to it at that moment. There will always be excuses about things we think we will need to do first. But it’s a wonderful thing to be sensitive to Almighty God when it comes to receiving His gift of salvation or serving Him. This is so that when He speaks to us, we will hear His voice and respond, and not delay, but take immediate action. Be conscious about the need to obey God’s command ‘now,’ and immediately. The word that is dear to the heart of God is the word “today”, but Satan’s favourite word of all words is the word “tomorrow.” Today is one of the greatest gifts God has given to mankind.
There is a moment in our lives when God speaks. 2 Cor. 6:1-2 says it this way, “We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:1-2). Do you understand the message of this text of scripture? There’s a time when God speaks, a time when his voice is being heard. It’s at that moment that you need to respond. When God, by the Holy Spirit, speaks to our hearts, that’s the moment we respond, not tomorrow, not tonight, but now.
Today, don’t harden your heart while you hear his voice. Today is the day of salvation, tomorrow is not the day, yesterday wasn’t the day, but today. Tomorrow can be a dangerous word, for tomorrow has robbed many people of their dreams. It has robbed students of educational achievement and career opportunities. It has kept more people from coming to Christ than any other word in the dictionary. Let me remind you that tomorrow will rob you of opportunities to serve Almighty God.
What’s the first thing that a man needs to fulfill his God given purpose? What’s the first thing that a man needs to live the abundant life that God created us for? It’s a day, it’s today. As simple as that sounds, every day is a gift, and it’s so precious. God gave us structure, He gave us a day, He gave us weeks, months, and years. He also gave us seasons and they all begin with a day, and that could be today.
This is God’s provision for our purpose and so the first thing that a man needs to fulfill his purpose is a day. Sometimes, it’s something so simple as forgiving someone, or something so simple as giving a gift to someone. It can be giving an offering to God, or something so simple as praising God when you don’t feel like it. It’s the little foxes that spoil the vine.
Something so simple as just the small things that the Spirit of God is leading you to do and the things you know you must do. We may think or say I’ll do it tomorrow or I’ll do it next week or I’ll do it next month and before you know it, we’ve wasted a month, we wasted a year. You see, the day God put something on your heart is the day you should start working towards that thing. So, don’t worry if the progress is slow. Forget about what you haven’t been able to do up until now and just be willing to cooperate with the Holy Spirit as he leads and guides your life.
" You need to structure your day according to what God has put on your heart so that you govern your day, take control of your day and live your day the way God wants you to live it. "
Do It Now
A day is extremely important because you become what you do every day. Your life takes on the shape of what you do every day and so your future is never going to be what you want it to be unless you start with today. Your future is never going to be what God has put into your heart unless you start moving in that direction today and continue moving in the same direction every day until you eventually get to that place.
“This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:24). Each day is the day that the Lord has made, therefore, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Every day is perfect, and every day comes with opportunities. It cannot be improved; it’s perfect the way it is. I can’t change it because it’s perfect. So, the Psalmist says this is the day that the Lord has made, and we will rejoice and be glad in it. We will have to rely on every day to accomplish our goals.
I need to structure my day according to what God has put on my heart so that I govern my day, take control of my day and live my day the way God wants me to live it. I’m not going to live my day in fear, I’m not going to live my day being anxious, I’m not going to live my day worrying about tomorrow.
This is the day which the LORD has made. A new opportunity has appeared. It’s a new day that the Lord has made for mankind. It’s a perfect day, it’s a blessed day to rejoice and be glad in it. A day made and ordained by God for us to achieve our purposes in life. Every day you wake up, remember that it’s a perfect day the Lord has made for you to do great things to glorify His Holy name. We will rejoice and be glad in it. What else can we do? I’m not going to live my day intimidated, I’m not going to live my day cowardly, I’m going to live my day boldly and I’m going to live it with courage and purpose.
In Luke 9:59-62, Jesus was speaking to some of his followers about discipleship and the importance of their immediate response to the call of God. “Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” 61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Jesus’ command to His followers still applies to us today. He expects our immediate response and asks us to sacrifice everything and put His service as top priority in order to live for Him and preach His good news. No matter how hard or difficult life has been, you have to continue to recognise the seasons of opportunities that God gives you.
You have to take advantage of the lifetime of an opportunity in the lifetime of that opportunity because every opportunity has a lifetime. How many of us, when we are just about to get to the end of this life, will be able to, for a brief moment until God calls us home, look back over our lives and remember moments of decision when we could have done something great for God and because we decided not to take immediate action, the opportunity was no longer there. Opportunities don’t just come and stay there forever, they come, and they go. So, we must take every door of opportunity that God opens for us. I pray that we will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s promptings and discern new opportunities He brings our way, and subsequently take action today.
