Appointing Our Days – Make the Mmost of Your Time – for God 

By Roxanne Drury 

Have you ever given a particularly slothful child this warning? “You only have one life, don’t waste it.” By these words, of course, you wanted your child to go out and experience life with others rather than sit in front of a TV screen, alone. You wanted him or her to go out and enjoy nature rather than sleep the day away. You wanted him or her to get a job rather than sit and scroll through social media for hours on end or to just do something, anything to make the most of a day! 

You probably know this, but God has something to say about this. He has something to say about everything actually. (Uh oh, beware of a rabbit hole… Back to topic… God having something to say about not wasting the days He has given us.) In His Word He calls it “numbering our days.”  It’s about way more than just getting a job or taking a hike though. 

Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”  In other words, make the most of your days since they are few. Get your priorities straight. Get your heart set on God’s purposes for each of your days. James 4:14 says, “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” Life is short. Don’t waste even one day. Oh, but how? How do I prevent wasting my days? One word – prayer. 

Instead of waiting to see what each day will bring, we are to prepare for each day through prayer. Appoint each day through prayer. That means taking action to commit each day to the Lord and committing to follow where He leads, do what He wants you to do, and see what and whom He wants you to see. It’s like making an appointment with God to guide your day. Jonathan Cahn in his book “The Book of Mysteries” says it like this, “ You appoint your days in God to bring what is good. You consecrate them for the purposes of God. And then you use your days to accomplish those purposes.” 

In the book of Acts we see how Paul numbered and prepared his days. Acts 19:21 tells us that “Paul resolved in the Spirit” to go here or there. Paul was following God’s guidance on his journeys and went where God led and spoke to whom God wanted him to speak. He appointed his days according to God’s purposes, not his own. Paul was a world changer because he appointed his days according to God’s purposes. 

So often we find ourselves at the end of the day asking ourselves, “What did I even do today?” If we have to ask ourselves that question, we have not appointed our day with God. 

Even God appointed His days. He appointed holy days, certain feasts, and festivals at certain times of the year. The Israelites were to observe these appointed days. These days were set apart as holy and consecrated to the Lord. The Israelites had divine appointments to focus on the Lord and gather together in worship and prayer (Leviticus 23:1-2).   

What I see here is that we are to make the most of our days – not for our own purposes, but for God’s divine purposes. We are to prepare and appoint each day and not allow them to slip through our fingers so that nothing has been accomplished for the Lord. We can’t ignore the opportunities God puts in our path each day to speak a kind word, help someone, pray with a friend, lend a listening ear, and give a word of encouragement. The list goes on and on. 

Cahn bids us to “Commit our days into God’s hands and appoint them for the fulfilling of His purposes.” I encourage you to ask God each morning, “Lord, what do You have for me to do today?” Listen. Pay attention. He will give you eyes to see where your appointments are. He will give you a heart to know what needs to be done. 

Don’t let a day go by that you have not served the Lord in some way, shape, or form to accomplish His appointed purposes. 

Roxanne Drury is a wife, mother, grandmother, and retired Christian preschool teacher who loves the Lord and His Word. She has served the Lord in children’s ministry for over 45 years and is currently on staff at Rockharbor Church. She has written a book that she calls “a God-inspired book for little girls” and, recently, a devotional book and group study guide on Psalm 23. She may be reached at [email protected].