By F. D. Adkins
I open my eyes and jump to my feet. The snooze button is not an option. Time does not allow it. I fell asleep last night creating a detailed list in my mind of the things I want to accomplish today. I trudge down the stairs to start the day. Devotion time, prayer time, workout, clean kitchen, get dressed, check email, and then I am off to run errands. I take off the trash, stop by the college bookstore to pick up textbooks for my son, and while I am out, I stop by the store for a few things I need. Thinking about the book trailer I am working on and the basket I need to make for the book signing, I move at my usual fast pace through the store. And as usual, I find myself delayed at the bananas because even the green ones have a brown tint. While I stand there staring at the bananas trying to decide on a bunch that might make it a couple of days, I begin to talk to the lady next to me about how cold it is in the store, and she comments about how she wishes she had brought a jacket. Then the lady proceeds to ask me if I know Jesus. Suddenly, the urgent list vanishes from my mind. I answer, “Yes,” and the lady and I proceed to talk about how wonderful it is to walk with Jesus every day, and the need to tell others about Him. After a bit of sharing with each other, I continue on with my shopping but in a renewed frame of mind. My brain is no longer whirling with items not checked off on my list or what I am going to be doing three hours from now. My thoughts are no longer weighed down with worry about not meeting my goals. Instead, I am thinking about how I should be opening my eyes and taking in the people around me. Am I walking right past people who I need to be sharing the Gospel with? Is there someone right next to me who needs to hear about Jesus?
***
The rest of the day I spent thinking about how the enemy can start distracting me the second I open my eyes. For several months now, I have been working on my issue of setting unrealistic goals for the day, and I made a change to the way I pray in the morning. In the past, I would often find myself praying for God to help me focus and get everything completed that I needed to. I realized that was wrong. Now each morning, I pray that God would help me accomplish what He has planned for me to accomplish that day. However, I am a planner, so letting go of my planned list is a struggle. Each day I ask God to help me move my eyes from my list to the list He has for me. That being said, I know that my meeting at the stand of bananas was not by chance. I was being reminded that I was worrying about the wrong to-do list. After all, each day is a gift from God. And that was the verse that continued to repeat in my head. “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 KJV.
If God made the day, then the day belongs to Him, not me. And two words in the above verse catch my attention… “rejoice” and “glad”. So, I have made a list of seven verses giving praise to God… one for every day this week. As soon as I open my eyes, before I get out of bed, I want to recite a verse of praise before the enemy has a chance to start his distractions. I am sharing my list of verses below.
Monday: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 KJV
TUESDAY: “I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.” Psalm 9:1 KJV
WEDNESDAY: “Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.” Psalm 63:3 KJV
THURSDAY: “O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.” Isaiah 25:1 KJV
FRIDAY: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” Psalm 139:14 KJV
SATURDAY: “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.” Psalm 28:7 KJV
SUNDAY: “But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.” Psalm 59:16 KJV
