3 Ways to Improve the Next 24 Hours

“I don’t need easy, I just need possible.”  ~Soul Surfer 

I continue to marvel at how much life can change within the span of only twenty-four hours.  It is exceptionally difficult when this change is for the worst:

• A work project/position taking a nose-dive.
• A friend/family member breaking your trust, heart, and in turn, your relationship.
• Receiving a dreadful and surreal prognosis from a doctor.
• A terrorist attack changing the safety and perspective of all U.S. citizens.

In the words of a cherished song by Switchfoot (condensed):

24

Twenty four failures
Twenty four tries
Twenty four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
Twenty four drop outs
At the end of the day
Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty four hours ago

Even this very week, I am reminded of how in a moment’s notice, life can knock me to my knees, floundering for meaning and direction.  But, is it really that shocking how life/the world can change in only twenty-four hours?  I quickly reminded myself of the development that took place in only six days:

“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”   Exodus 20:11 (ESV)

This verse has sparked debates as to whether or not the word “days” represents exactly a twenty-four hour period.  However, these deliberations do not diminish the weight or content of my message: anything is possible in an amount of time, with God in our corner. 

Be a Come-Back Kid

In a world that is constantly in flux, it’s comforting to know that one thing will never change:  God’s and your power to change your circumstances.  Maybe it can be done within the next twenty-four hours.  Maybe your progress will require a substantial amount of time and perseverance.  Either way, it’s possible … and that’s all you need.

Positive experiences can also occur within 24 hours (or more), altering your impending future:

• Recognition of excellence from your employer, especially in the midst of struggle.
• Reassurance of the goodness in others, through an unexpected, helping hand.
• A new treatment, a renowned doctor appointed to your care, or a turnaround in your health, given your tireless attention to condition improvement.
• A country coming together in solidarity, refusing to fall in the face of fear, rising to become impervious to intimidation.

We may not have had adequate control over our twenty-four hour nose-dive, but we can have empowering control over our come-back.

Now, for the rest of Switchfoot’s lyrics:

24 (continued)

I want to see miracles, see the world change
Wrestled the angel, for more than a name
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause
I’m singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
I’m not copping out. Not copping out. Not copping out.

Take Control over the Next 24 Hours

1. Be aware of your mindset:  There’s nothing wrong with letting yourself feel the pain of a recent reality; just be careful not to let those feelings of pain, anger, or fear control you.  You control how a situation affects your actions.  Purpose and a positive outcome can follow any negative circumstance. 
2. Pray:  Pray for strength.  Pray for guidance.  Pray for the will to forgive.  Pray to resist turning your back on trust.  Pray for peace.
3. Strive for change:  Wake up each day reminding yourself that you have been blessed with another twenty-four hours to amend what took place during the days before.   God provides a clean slate today.  What are you going to fill it with?

God will approach us someday and ask what we decided to do in these moments (and why).  What will we tell him? 

Nope.  Copping out isn’t an option.

“No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven. ”  Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT)

Twitter: @AliciaMSmith7