The Years Are Made of Days

 

S

aturday, August 7, was my birthday. I woke up and found myself a year older than when I went to bed on Friday evening. Boy, did time fly during the night!  In reality, though, I had been gaining ground one day at a time since my last birthday.  It took me 365 days to reach my age and the following day I started on the next year.  I am looking forward to that milestone too.  The alternative to having another birthday is not really on my mind. 

 

On Saturday morning, as I was preparing breakfast, I couldn’t help but reflect on how my life had changed over the past year. I found myself musing over the good times and the challenges that had marked my path since August 7 of last year.  I came to realize that my years are made up of days and I how I live each one of them reflects on my life as a whole. 

 

Although this past year had its share of challenges and setbacks, I can say without reservation that God has been faithful just as He has been in the 57 years leading up to this one.  I have not gone hungry, I have had a warm place to sleep, I have had employment, I have friends, and I have felt God’s presence with me on a daily basis.  All these are God’s provision for my life and, according to His word, He will continue to provide for my needs. 

 

This is the truth of Leviticus 25:18-22, "'Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety. You may ask, "What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?" I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.” 

 

At first wash you may wonder why I picked this passage and what, exactly, the verse is saying.  Today, a prosperity gospel is extremely popular.  The message of this movement is very straightforward, God will prosper His own.  I agree that the Bible speaks of the prosperity of God’s people, but I do not believe it means God intends for there to be a Cadillac in every garage nor millions of dollars in every believer’s bank account. 

 

The verse from Leviticus addresses the cycle the Children of Israel were to follow once they settled in the Promised Land.  They were to sow their crops for six years and they were to allow the land to rest in the seventh year. Understandably they wondered what they would eat during the time the land produced no crops.  God’s answer is clear that in the sixth year He would provide enough food for the three years yet to come. 

 

At no time did He say the people would never have to work the land again!!!  In fact, the opening verse of this passage directs the people to follow God’s decrees and to obey His laws.  This means we must remain faithful to God’s commands at all times, day in and day out.  We are not to do as we please; we are to do what pleases Him.  When obedience becomes a lifestyle for the believer, he will then experience God’s provision.  God has promised to supply our needs, not our wants. The abundance of food during the sixth year was to meet the people’s need for the next three years.  God never offered it as a retirement plan. 

 

God addresses this very issue in the last part of the passage.  When the people planted during the eighth year, they would have food to sustain them until the new crop came in.  We need to pay attention to that.  The people returned to sowing and planting and God continued to provide.  It was God who made the land produce crops each year, not the people.  By sowing and planting, God allowed the people to work with Him.  They could plant the seed; they could not make it grow! 

 

This is still true today.  God expects us to do what we can with what He has given us.  Our job is to remain faithful and obedient and He has promised to provide our needs.  He provides them daily and He continues to provide for us even when the land produces no crops.  That is the kind of God we serve, one who loves us, who cares for us, and one who provides for our needs.   

 

Take a good look at your life and see how God has provided for you.  From the mountain top of today look back over the trail of years and see His hand in everything.  Then come down from the mountain determined to walk in faithfulness and obedience to God for the days and years yet to come.  Remember, years are made up of days.  How is your day going?