Blog
What Day Is It?
“All day I’ve thought it was Friday.” “I can’t keep my days straight anymore.” “It sure doesn’t feel like Sunday.” I’m sure many of us have uttered similar thoughts.
As we have previously noted, our routines of life have been turned upside down. Our daily signposts have been removed. For many Christians, Sunday and Wednesday have long been weekly pivot points. Add in work and school schedules, extra-curricular activities and miscellaneous appointments and we have the basic framework of our week. This creates a background mental program that provides the discipline to help us stay on task.
Interestingly, Scripture reveals that this weekly cycle originated with creation. First, God created in six days, each defined by “evening and morning,” each in ordinal sequence (first day, second day, etc.). “And on the seventh day God ended His work ... and He rested on the seventh day. ... Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it” (Gen. 2:2-3). This is later cited as the basis for the Mosaic Sabbath, which gave structure to the Jewish week (Ex. 20:8-11).
Further, lunar cycles occur in approximately four-week segments; female fertility cycles follow a similar pattern; seasons divide into roughly 13-week spans; and a year is roughly comprised of 52 weeks. Thus we become geared to weekly, monthly and yearly increments.
On the other end of the spectrum, each day is divided into cycles of light and darkness, sleep and wakefulness, the passing of hours and minutes. We tend to arrange each day based on time and opportunity (eating, hygiene, employment, chores, recreation, spiritual activity, etc.).
What all this means is that we live according to a time grid that helps us be focused, disciplined, accomplish necessary things and generally get the most out of our span of life. I believe this is part of God’s design to prevent us from wasting our most precious commodity: time. Time is opportunity to grow, serve, learn, correct, teach, invest in relationships, save a soul, draw closer to God. Time is life.
And now our week has become discombobulated. This is more than disorienting; it is dangerous. The danger is that we will fall into the very trap God wanted us to avoid, and that is to be undisciplined. While discipline is ultimately a function of the mind, God has structured our world in such a way that fosters mental discipline.
We’ve seen warnings about the compromise of our physical health during this lockdown -- i.e., gaining weight due to the change of our routines, boredom and a more sedentary lifestyle. Let us avoid a similar spiritual fate. Learn to create structure and routine without it being imposed by outward circumstances. Prayer, study of God’s word, service to others, meaningful communication and other important relational activities must be maintained even though our weekly signposts have been uprooted.
Yep, for some reason today feels like Wednesday, but it's only Tuesday. Let’s see, what do I need to be doing on a Tuesday?
