On October 17, 1651, after hearing of the death of his father, the brilliant mathematician, physicist, inventor and (whew!) philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote to his sister to comfort her in their grief. The letter itself is several pages in length due to Pascal’s uncanny ability to run on and on and on. For your benefit, the following is a brief excerpt of his note to his sister.
Here, Pascal reminds her that her ultimate consolation must come from God –
“. . . we should seek consolation in our ills, not in ourselves, not in men, not in any thing that is created, but in God.”
Then in regards to the timing of their father’s death, Pascal comforts his sister with the consolation that their father has died . . . in the exact timing of God’s Providence –
” . . . [God’s] providence conceived from all eternity to be executed in the plenitude of its time in such a year, such a day, such an hour, such a place, such a manner; and, in short, that all that has happened has been from all time foreknown and foreordained. . . and in the inmost part of the will of God, in the justice of His decree, in the order of His providence. . . ”
The bottom line is that Scripture confirms the reality that our lives are in the hands of our Sovereign Creator (thankfully). It was King David who wrote: “My times are in Your hands;” (Psalm 31:15a). And again,“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (Psalm 139:16).
Knowing that the number of our days are marked out before we give our first cry at birth should give us every reason to consider the value of each day and the overall purpose of our lives. Will we live out what God has gifted us to accomplish before we die? Will we have brought the glory to God our creator, with the potential for which He has prewired us?
With the Psalmist we call out to God, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
May your days be met with a God-given sense of fullfillment and contentment in Him and to His Glory Alone!
God’s Best,
Dar
Dar's Encouraging Word 