“But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)
In a short-lived CBS series from the 1970’s, the documentary-like reenactments examined the proceedings leading up to the deaths of famous historical figures. It was appropriately titled Appointment with Destiny. When one thinks about it, events in which we must confront unanticipated appointments can happen to each of us at any time. You are traveling down a country road soon to realize that as you go around the next bend, you will be face to face with another vehicle in your lane because its driver has fallen asleep at the wheel. You go to a routine doctor’s appointment and find that the results of your blood tests indicate that you may have a life-threatening disease. I think about the commercial where a guy is handed a note which says that his heart attack is scheduled for tomorrow at 5 p.m. A little forewarning would sometimes be helpful, but most times – it’s just best not to know.
One day while I was cleaning a storage area, I ran across some videos I had taken. I decided to view them so that I could label the unidentified cases. None were more than a few years old, but I was struck by the changes that occurred since they were made. One included some friends and family members, several of whom had passed away. Another contained an interview with a married couple who were celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary. Both were very alert and able to recapture the details of the courtship. Not long after its filming, they moved into a care facility where both passed away within a year. A third video was taken at a wedding of a young couple. They looked happy, but less than six months later they went their separate ways. Situations like these are pertinent reminders of the adage: “Want to make God laugh – tell Him your plans.” Life is certainly full of time-sensitive moments, many of which are unpredictable.
So here we are, ready to turn the page of the calendar and begin another year. Many of us will remember a time when we would buy a new annual appointment book. I used to feel like it was a whole new beginning, because those pages had nothing written on them. Then came the day of electronic scheduling. If you had a parent meeting at your child’s school on the fourth Tuesday of each month or a service club every Wednesday night, your computer would automatically roll those dates over from one year to the next. Before you know it, your “fresh start” contains so many appointments that there isn’t always time to schedule some of the things you most value. We should be wiser then about how we fill in our time and give greater scrutiny to the appointments we make. “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
Scripture tells us that everything is temporal except for God and His promises which we inherit if we faithfully follow Him. We have a very important future appointment with Our Maker written in His Book of Life. David understood this: “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (Psalm 139:16). We must, therefore, bring meaning and importance to each new day. Otherwise, they will become nothing more than a succession of fleeting moments. “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). So how is it then that we should give meaning to our lives as we move day to day and year to year? Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Then on that day we He calls out your name, it will turn out to be the best unscheduled date you’ll ever have – a true appointment with destiny.
REFLECTION: William Penn wrote – “I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.” How can you apply this to your life in the upcoming year?
A NEW LOOKUP DEVOTION IS UPLOADED EACH WEEK. THE NEXT WEEKLY POSTING WILL BE ON SAT., JANUARY 7, 2017. COMMENTS ARE WELCOMED.