Excitement
Excitement
When we live in the present tense, we live by faith and are able to welcome each day from God’s hand, knowing that He always plans the best for us. Whether we wake up at home, in a motel, or in a hospital bed, we say confidently by faith, “This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:24 NKJV). Our emphasis is on “the life I now live” (Gal. 2:20), the life of “good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10). We know that the Lord has planned each new day for us and that each day is tailor-made to bring us just what we need to keep us growing and serving (Ps. 139:16). Each day is an appointment, not an accident; and when our desire is to glorify God, we see opportunities as well as obstacles.
When we lose the excitement of the Christian life, we also start losing the enjoyment of the Christian life and become lukewarm believers like the church in Laodicea (Rev. 3:14–22). Instead of eagerly expecting each new day to be an adventure in faith, we yawn and start searching for something more exciting to do. Our daily devotional life becomes bland and routine, the occasional problems that come along make us impatient and angry, and eventually, blessing is replaced by boredom. Instead of thanking our Father for the good things He sends daily, we complain about what He doesn’t send.
A. W. Tozer wrote, “A dopey, blear-eyed generation seeks constantly for some new excitement powerful enough to bring a thrill to its worn-out and benumbed sensibilities.” 1 Ouch! Once Lot had gotten a taste of the intoxicating life of Egypt, he got tired of Uncle Abraham’s life of faith and started moving toward Sodom (Gen. 13). As a result, Lot lost everything he owned when Sodom was destroyed, and he ended up in a cave committing incest with his two unmarried daughters. Lot didn’t end well.
If you knew that each day would bring you joy and wealth, your life would be marked by excitement and anticipation. But that is exactly what our heavenly Father promises us! “I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches,” wrote the psalmist. “I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil” (Ps. 119:14, 162). Life is short and the days move swiftly, so we can’t afford to waste them. “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (90:12).
When we find ourselves yawning instead of yearning, the only remedy is to repent, confess our sins, open the Scriptures, and hear a reviving word from the Lord. “The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul” (Ps. 19:7). Lose the excitement of living by faith, a day at a time, and you will end up on a costly detour.