Seize

You may have heard it said …

Life can be fast and furious. Those who have gone before warn of the speed at which kids grow up and leave home. Moms, who are in the trenches, don’t have the same perspective. The days can feel like years, but then, as predicted, the years turn into fleeting moments.

If seize means to take control of a situation or opportunity, what does it really look like to seize the day? More often than not, it’s impossible to take control. Could it mean to make the most of every opportunity? What about every hardship? Every tear drop? When life is spinning out of control, how can it be seized?

I dare to say that there is really only ONE who is in control. It is He who laid the foundation of the earth. He who determined its measurements. He who shut in the sea with doors and set limits .. and said, “Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed.” He who caused the dawn to know its place. He who has bound the chains of the Pleides and loose the cords of Orion. He who knows the ordinances of the heavens and established their rule on the earth. He who sends forth lightnings .. and numbered the clouds by wisdom. (Job 38)

Only One can take control. We, who were created in His image, can take control of situations and opportunities, as He allows and sees fit. He alone gives us the authority to do so. First, we must bask in His presence. We must sit at His feet. We must submit to His Lordship. It’s in the presence of the One who is in control that we are given any ability to control.

I am the vine; you are the branches.
Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit,
for apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5

Abide.

Rest.

… in Him.

It is only then that we can truly seize the day.