2Tim.4:7,  “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”

The Lord’s general promise is seventy years of life.  Whether you live for seventy like David, more than seventy or less than seventy, those years are lived out one day at a time.  The same is true of the Christian life – it is lived out one day at a time.  Whether you serve God five years or fifty years before you die, you would have served God one day at a time.

The year has 365 days.  Those 365 days are lived out one day at a time.  If you are ten years old, you would have already lived out 3,650 days, one day at a time.  If you are fifty, you would have already lived out 18,250 days, one day at a time.

How did you live the 365 days in 2023?  Did you live them for God and His glory?  Can you say that in 2023,  “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith”? 

As we noted already, the Christian life is lived out one day at a time.  Every morning, when you rise up, you must resolve that by the grace of God and the strength He so richly supplies  (Phil.4:13)  :  “I want to live for the glory of God today.”  Today, I do not want to  “walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers.”  (Psa.1:1).  Today, I want to delight in the law of the Lord and seek to obey Him in every aspect of my life and in all that I may face.  (Psa.1:2;  Matt.28:20).  Today, I want to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness.  (Matt.6:33).  Today, I want to press forward toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus my Lord.  (Ph.3:14). 

Every night, before going to bed you should pause to reflect and ask yourself  :  did I fight the good fight today?  Did I finish the course today?  Did I keep the faith today?  Where did I stumble?  Where did I fall?  Did I seek for God’s promised forgiveness?  (1Jn.1:9).  How can I correct and strengthen those weak areas?

As you face the rest of 2024, determine with James that all you have is today.  Not 365 days, just today.  And seek to live each day as if that is all you have, today.  The fact is, you do not have tomorrow.  (cf. Jas.4:13-16).  So, each day God gives you, make the fresh resolve each morning, “Today, with God’s help, I must live for His glory.”