Did you know that this year, we have 31,622,400 seconds of life? That's 86,400 more seconds than last year because 2024 is a leap year.
Most of those seconds will be lived in ordinary activities: sleeping, eating, cleaning, working, learning, and transport.
Throughout December, we focus on the Advent season, the good news that the King of the Universe came to walk this Earth with us. When He was finished walking and living among us, He demonstrated His unfathomable love for us. But that wasn’t all. He promised to come again AND, in our waiting, to fill us so that we would have His Essence working through us to prepare for His return.
In January, we switch gears and focus on the year ahead, setting goals and making plans. How many of those seconds do we then try to overlap activities in service of these resolutions? Exercising while listening to a podcast, listening to an audiobook while driving or taking transit to work, catching up on social media while eating lunch. But what if we lingered on the good news of the God who came to be with us? What if we pulled Advent along with us into January?
This news that God came to be with us, die for us, and indwell us is life-changing. It literally changes:
how we go to bed at night: “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." (Psalm 4:8, NASB 1995);
how we start the day: "This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24, NASB 1995)
how we learn: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10, NASB 1995);
how we mourn: "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18, ESV);
and so on: "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men" (Colossians 3:23, NASB 1995).
But, our ordinary seconds are only changed if we're aware of this good news. Since we happen to be forgetful people, we need constant reminders.
I've started reading A Year with God: Living Out the Spiritual Disciplines by Richard J. Foster and Julia L. Roller. And the Bible verse that has been resonating with me in these first few days of 2024 is Psalm 90:12: "So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom" (NASB 1995).
I'm hoping by reading this book and focusing on this verse, that in 2024, I'll be able to hold on to the reality of God with us just a few seconds more.
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