The Most Important Day of Your Life

"So I thought I should ask these brothers to go to you before we do. They will finish getting in order the generous gift you promised so it will be ready when we come. And it will be a generous gift-not one that you did not want to give.

Remember this: The person who plants a little will have a small harvest, but the person who plants a lot will have a big harvest. Each of you should give as you have decided in your heart to give. You should not be sad when you give, and you should not give because you feel forced to give. God loves the person who gives happily."---2 Corinthians 9:5-7 (NCV)

"What I do today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it." ---Anonymous




"If It's not growing, it's going to die."---Michael Eisner







So, you know the world is still going on while you are asleep, right? Yes, it's true that the sleep of a laboring man is sweet (Ecclesiastes 5:12), but if you want to witness some of the most important things going on in the news, on our earth, in our history, try catching it while most of the world is snoring. Do you remember the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins? (Matthew 25:1-13) Five of them missed out on the bridegroom's arrival because they were not prepared. Ecclesiastes 8:5 states that a wise man discerns time and judgment and 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that ALL SCRIPTURE (this would mean both the Old and New Testament, ya'll) "...is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." The Bible also tells us that if anyone lacks wisdom, he can ask of God. (James 1:5) Sometimes he speaks through a person, sometimes he speaks through a television set. Please be aware of the times we are living in. They are serious.




This morning, as I tried to "prepare", I found myself briefly watching the channel that had been on the day before. There was a program on about weddings and it featured experts who were telling soon-to-be brides about what they should wear and incorporate into their special day. As one woman was going on (and on...and on...) about why a bride should get whatever she wants, the reason that she gave is what prompted me to pen, well type, this devotional: " (blah, blah, blah)...because it's the most important day of your life."




Is it? Don't get me wrong. I am in a wedding in a couple of weeks and I'm definitely looking forward to it. I love the couple very dearly and without a doubt, the covenant of marriage (especially a well-planned and discerned one) is one of God's most precious gifts. (Matthew 10:6-9) But, at least for this moment, no husband is in sight for me. Does that make me any less important? Does that mean that I shouldn't consider myself to "matter much"?




Ain't it just like a human to make something be about them when it's not? (Philippians 2:3) I know it may sound like it (initially), but no, I'm not bitter. (Proverbs 14:10) I'm actually bringing this up to illustrate a point. Your 16^th...or 21^st...or 35^th...or 40^th...or 65^th birthday, yes it is important. The day that you get engaged, get married and/or have a child, they are important. The day you get a promotion and/or buy a house or car, these days are also important. But the truth (John 8:32) is that they are no more (or less) important than today. As a matter of fact, days like those are simply the culmination of days like these. I think if we really caught on to that, we would live "regular days" in a way that makes them seem more extraordinary! When it comes to "seizing the day", there are two scriptures that I have read and written about quite a bit this year:




"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth."---Proverbs 27:1 (NKJV)




"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."---Matthew 6:34 (NKJV)




Yes, one definition of "tomorrow" is "the day following today", but did you know that another is "a future period or time"? Knowing that, now look at these scriptures again:




"Do not boast about a future period or time, for you do not know what a day may bring forth."




"Therefore do not worry about a future period or time, for a future period or time will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day [the present] is its own trouble."




Do not worry. Do not:




Torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.




Feel uneasy or concerned about something; be troubled.




Proceed doggedly in the face of difficulty or hardship; struggle.




Bother or annoy, as with petty complaints.




Attack roughly and repeatedly; harass.




Touch, move, or handle idly; toy with.




After all, what does it add to your life? (Matthew 6:27) Nothing good. Instead of tormenting yourself over something that isn't even guaranteed to you, it would profit you more to simply pray on it. At least, that's what the Word says:




"Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon. Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."---Philippians 4:5-7 (NCV)




Just today, while copying and pasting this scripture, I saw something that I never really noticed before. Right before "be anxious for nothing", the scriptures tell us that everyone should see that we are what? Gentle and kind. These are two other Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) that I don't focus on nearly as much as I should. Of course, the Word is multi-dimensional and so I'm sure as I study on these words more and more, I (and prayerfully you as well) will receive different revelations, but for now, it would appear that because "gentle and kind" precedes being anxious, it would lead me to believe that one of the reasons that we are given this instruction is because when we are "soft and low"; "polite and refined", "moderate and gradual", and when we are "considerate" and "helpful"...in other words, when we are HUMANE, it keeps us and those around us from losing it. After all, it's pretty hard to convince people that you "walk by faith and not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7), when all they see is that what's before you is what moves you...up and down, in and out, round and round.




What's "before you" could be:




A pink slip

A bill

A heartbreaking letter/email/phone call

A health report

A confrontation (whether it's warranted or not)




If you really believe that things will work out for the best (Hebrews 11:1) and that God has great things in mind for you (Jeremiah 29:11), then you shouldn't let your five senses---and how they operate in the physical world---run and/or potentially ruin your life. What should you do instead? You should watch what you sow so that it will be of no surprise to you what you reap.




In a purpose-planning book that I have, one of the things the author shares is that "...a good wedding does not guarantee a successful marriage. Nor will a good holiday imply a happy and fulfilled life. In many cases, the only reason the wedding and holiday were great, is the fact that they were well planned."




Plan: a scheme or method of acting, doing, proceeding, making, etc., developed in advance; a specific project or definite purpose; a formal program for specified benefits, needs, etc.




What does the Bible say about planning? Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God knows the thoughts and plans that he has for us; they are good and are meant to give us hope in the final outcome. The New Century Version of Proverbs 19:21 tells us that man can make all kinds of plans, but only the Lord's plan will happen. (So please stop prophe-lying on yourself. It's counterproductive!) The same version says in Ephesians 1:11 that in Christ, we are God's chosen people, in keeping with God's plan. But as it relates to this particular message, this one seems to be the most fitting:




"Some of you say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to some city. We will stay there a year, do business, and make money.' But you do not know what will happen tomorrow! Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away. So you should say, 'If the Lord wants, we will live and do this or that.' But now you are proud and you brag. All of this bragging is wrong. Anyone who knows the right thing to do, but does not do it, is sinning."---James 4:13-17 (NCV)




The Message Version puts it like this:




"And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, 'Today-at the latest, tomorrow-we're off to such and such a city for the year. We're going to start a business and make a lot of money.' You don't know the first thing about tomorrow. You're nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, 'If the Master wills it and we're still alive, we'll do this or that.' As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don't do it, that, for you, is evil."

So, what does all of this mean? That we have no say in what goes on in our lives? C'mon. You know better than that! The Bible, and your testimony (I Timothy 4:14-16) is chocked full of examples of where the power of choice takes people. Actually, what I wanted you to see is that since we are told that God can do exceedingly above all that we could ask, think or PLAN (Ephesians 3:20), we should automatically trust that his plan is better than ours. However, no matter what his plan is, there are certain principles that God has put in motion; there are certain things that directly affect our receiving of his plan. One of them is sowing and reaping. Most of us are familiar with Galatians 6:7-8:

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."

In this context, "mock" means God is not to be challenged or defied. However, it's when I went to look up the words "sow" and "reap" that I saw this scripture in a way that I never quite have before:

Sow: to scatter (seed) over the ground for growing; to spread (land, for example) with seed; to implant, introduce, or promulgate; seek to propagate or extend; disseminate.

Now, when it comes to sowing, what got me were words like "scatter", "promulgate" and "disseminate". All of these have to do with spreading around, circulating, reproducing, increasing.

Reap: to gather or take (a crop, harvest, etc.); to get as a return, recompense, or result; to obtain as a result of effort.

I love how the Webster's Unabridged Dictionary puts it:

"To gather; to obtain; to receive as a reward or harvest, or as the fruit of labor or of works; -- in a good or a bad sense; as, to reap a benefit from exertions."

Exertion: vigorous action or effort.

"Do not be deceived. What a man scatters, spreads, promulgates, disseminates, that will he get as a return, recompense or result; that he will obtain as a result of effort or reap a benefit from [as the result of] exertions."

The point? Sowing takes work, but reaping really does! When you sow something to the flesh, when you "spread" evil, most definitely you will get a result from it, but according to all of these definitions, it takes some real effort on your part to make something substantial happen. On the flip side, when you sow to the Spirit, when you disseminate good, you will get a return, but it comes as a benefit of exertions as well.

Looking at it from both perspectives has given me even more freedom in Christ! (John 8:36) James 4:17 tells us that if we know to do good, but do not do it, it is a sin, right? Romans 3:23 tells us that we all have sinned and fall short of God's glory, and I John 1:10 reminds us that if we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar and his word is not in us. Yet, right before that verse, I John 1:9 states that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.

Cleanse: to remove by or as if by cleaning; to free from dirt, defilement, or guilt; purge or clean; purge of an ideology, bad thoughts, or sins.

Purge: to rid of whatever is impure or undesirable; to remove by cleansing or purifying.

Something that I have stated all year is that there is no expiration date on reaping. I still believe that. But what has changed my mindset when it comes to applying the "sowing and reaping" principle in my life is that asking for forgiveness can remove some of what I sow before it gets implanted, before it spreads to other areas of my life, before I have to reap it. No wonder Christ instructed us to ask for forgiveness and to forgive others while praying. (Matthew 6:12) Shoot, now that I think about it, no wonder the Word instructs us to pray without ceasing because if we are constantly knowing to do good not doing it, we need to be constantly asking for forgiveness. (Can you imagine what life would be like if we reaped EVERYTHING that we sowed?) As a matter of fact, let's look at I Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV):

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

If you want to sow, scatter, spread something that will bring about something good, learn to "feel joyful" and "be delighted", get into the habit of offering "devout petitions and praise" and in EVERYTHING, "express gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgment". This is God's will...this is a part of his plan...this is how you get to what he desires for your life! WOW. The NKJV of the lead scripture for today states that if you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly, but if you sow bountifully, you will reap bountifully. If you sow...if you scatter...if you spread a lot delight; if you sow...if you scatter...if you spread a lot of petitions and praise; if you sow...if you scatter...if you spread a lot of gratitude, appreciation and acknowledgment, you will have a big harvest. Now catch the definition of harvest:

Harvest: the season when ripened crops are gathered; to gain, win, acquire, or use (a prize, product, or result of any past act, process, plan, etc.).

WOW again! The Bible doesn't say if you sow, you might. It says if you sow, you will.




Now the harvest season, like everything else, is up to God (Ecclesiastes 3), but I just wanted to share this with you to encourage you. Just yesterday, I got a praise report from a friend of mine who, just last week got laid off from her job. This week? That same job gave her an all-expenses paid trip to her hometown, which has been a trip that she has wanted to take but didn't know where she would get the money to do it. When I called her to tell her how "ironic" that was, she said, "When they sat me down to tell me that they had to let me go, I was OK. They are really good people and have been good to me. I just can't believe that I've been praying for this and now I am going. I get to lay up in a luxury hotel and everything!"




I can believe it. Whether she realized it or not, she obviously put I Thessalonians 5:16-18 into practice. Even though she will be without a job officially as of tomorrow, she still rejoiced. Weeks ago, she prayed about taking a trip home and when she got fired, she gave thanks in spite of. Do you think that this "seed attitude" didn't "spread" to her co-workers? Of course it did! Deeper yet, do you not think that choosing to have this attitude did not take some effort and exertion on her part? And yet, God was true to his Word with her. Because she stayed in his will, in this instance, his will and her desire lined up. Because he delighted in what she sowed, she reaped one of her heart's desires! (Psalm 37:4)




I just love it because it's a testament to just how caring (I Peter 5:6-7), how concerned, how detailed he is with our lives. I mean, if the very hairs on your head are numbered (and they are---Luke 12:7), how much more do you think he cares about your rent, your feelings, your wish list---your seed. Galatians 6:7-8 is not meant to scare you so much as it's there to remind you that you play a huge part in your life's agenda.




I believe it's also there to remind us that sowing and reaping are both processes. Why do we need grace and mercy? (Hebrews 4:16) Because the truth is sometimes we will know the good to do and not do it. We need grace, mercy and forgiveness to remove some of the seeds we sow before they take root. It really hit me that to be at a place where I reap what I sow, there has to be a period of germination; a time when I am not acknowledging my need for these three things but instead, I am simply scattering, spreading, implanting, even introducing my sin to various areas of my life and those around me. It takes real effort to reap my wrongs. I mock/challenge God when I live like I don't need his forgiveness, grace and mercy. Of course I do, but I deceive myself when I act like I don't; when I live like a life of non-correction does not bring about ultimate (self) destruction.




At the same time, it takes real exertion to reap the good that I scatter, spread, implant and introduce as well. Not because God doesn't see me and isn't pleased, but because sowing good takes just as much work as sowing bad. When I do bad, I need forgiveness, grace and mercy to pull my seeds out. When I do good, I need the Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) to keep them in. A good gardener will tell you that you have to tend to your seed daily to get the kind of harvest that you want. One missed day can destroy all of the good that you did the day, even months before (John 10:10).




And so, that brings us to the title for today. Contrary to what that wedding planner said, your wedding day is not the most important day if your life. If you are married, you've already had it and if you're single, it's not here yet. Oh, but you are here and so is this very moment. Therefore, TODAY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY OF YOUR LIFE. If there's something you don't like about your world, first remember that God's plans are always good ("Good" doesn't necessarily mean it's what you think it should be, but either way, he thinks way above your level, remember?---Isaiah 55:8-11). I would recommend that you surrender your agenda to that. But secondly, now more than ever, purpose in your mind to be more sensitive to what you sow and be more aware of what is required when it comes to reaping the harvest of it.




Seeds don't grow overnight and harvests are not received just by wanting them. It takes work on our parts...for the good and the bad. Your now is a result of yesterday. If you don't like it, ask for forgiveness and let grace and mercy do its work (however God sees fit). Your tomorrow will be a result of today. If you want something different/better, plant some Fruit of the Spirit seeds---generously, not sparingly; not because you have to, but because you want to.




I mean, why wouldn't you want to, anyway? Only good comes from the Spirit and that's definitely something to be happy---right now---about, right? Right!




©Shellie R. Warren/2008