Today is my Birthday

Today is my birthday. And I will even dare to tell you my age – I am thirty-one. A frightful thing? Not really, I am surrounded by adopted church mothers who insist that I’m nothing but a baby. Their unrestrained and confident affirmation offers no room for disagreement and in the end, I’m left to share their view – thirty-one is nothing but a baby.

There was another voice this morning however – one more gripping and even surer than that of my church mothers. I woke up early this morning to it. While quiet, it was very determined to cause restlessness – which then brought reflection, which led to prayer, which God willing, will bring change. It was the voice of Scripture. And its message today was “Watch yourself lest your heart be weighed down with dissipation” (Luke 21:34).

I first encountered this passage about two years ago while wriggling in a rut. It was an easy pattern to fall into – a busy work life, a busy family life, ministry obligations, not to mention active social networking, chipped away at a disciplined prayer and personal Bible study life. It was a restless and discomforting place but these feelings were not enough to inspire change. Change came through the conviction of the Word of God. I read Luke 21:34 and saw a heart weighed down with dissipation – in this case, wasteful preoccupations that lulled my zeal for fellowship with the Lord and growth in the knowledge of His Word. The underlining message that I heard then was “don’t waste your life.”

With each age and New Year comes the reminder that life here is not forever. There is an end for each of us and I do not want to waste my life! I want to do well for the Lord as a profitable and useful servant who brings pleasure to her Master. I want to turn ever more from the dissipation that weighs down the heart to set on affections on the LORD. I want to be jealous for His glory, submitting to His Spirit so that I can please Him (Romans 8:1-8). How ever many years might be ahead, I want them to be used purposefully and intentionally for the glory of the LORD.

I’m convinced that this isn’t so much a to-do list as it is God’s work of sanctification in me. And I’m confident that He who has began that good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). “My work” in it all is to commit to prayer, study and the intentional pursuit of sanctification. So I thank God today for another birthday and ask for the grace to do well for Him – because I don’t want to waste my life.