Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.
Mother Teresa
From what I have learned over the years, this is a summary of what the word seize means: to take hold of forcibly and suddenly, or to grab, grasp, or snatch. It also means to take control of or to repossess. When we seize something we subdue it, and that is exactly what God told Adam to do concerning the earth.
And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.
Genesis 1:28 (AMPC)
If we desire to know how God wanted man to live, we can look to the beginning of time as we know it, and there is no better place to look than Genesis chapter 1. God created Adam and Eve and gave them authority and dominion over the rest of His creation. He told them to subdue it, or, in other words, to seize it and use it in the service of God and man.
Far too many people are inactive, and they wait for something to fall into their laps—they end up waiting until it is too late. They live unsatisfied and unproductive lives simply because they don’t wake up each day ready to seize the day and make the most out of it.
We can easily see God’s will for man, but sadly, Adam and Eve chose their own will instead of using their free will and power of choice to choose God’s will. They did what God told them not to do. They sinned and God’s plan for man was damaged, but not entirely lost. The devil deceived them into thinking that having their own selfish desire would make them happy, and for a short while he thought he had ruined God’s plan for man. However, God had an amazing and powerful plan for the redemption of man. A plan that, if followed, would allow him to take back all that the devil had stolen.
The devil is referred to as “the thief” in the book of John. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came to redeem and restore (see John 10:10). What has the devil stolen from you? Perhaps you have never even thought about it. Has he stolen your confidence, your courage, your identity, your energy, zeal, and enthusiasm for life? Has he taken your peace and joy? What about your right standing with God as His child? Do you know who you are in Christ and the privileges your inheritance from Him gives you?
The devil stole my childhood through sexual, emotional, and mental abuse. Fear took the first thirty-two years of my life, but Jesus has given them back to me in double measure. God promises not only restoration, but He promises to give us back double what the enemy has stolen (see Zechariah 9:12, Isaiah 61:7). In one scripture He even promises a seven-fold return on what a thief has taken (see Proverbs 6:31)!
When we lack correct knowledge, the devil takes advantage of us, but once we know the truth of God’s Word it makes us free. The term makes us free doesn’t mean that freedom magically happens with no action on our part. The truth we apply to our lives is what will make us free. Just the realization that we don’t have to live as victims, but that we actually can wake up and seize the day is in itself freedom!
A victim is someone who is harmed by another. A victim is involved in an unfortunate situation—the victim of a car accident, a fire, a robbery, or someone who has been abused. The victim is harmed and was unable to do anything to prevent the harm. Many people are victims of various unfortunate situations, but they can recover with God’s help unless they develop a “victim mentality” and refuse to let it go.
I was a victim of sexual abuse, and for many years I lived as a victim. I felt sorry for myself, used my past as an excuse for a bad attitude and bad behavior, and had a chip on my shoulder, a feeling that the world owed me preferential treatment because I was a victim. That wrong attitude never made my life any better, it just kept me trapped in the pain of my past.
God’s Word tells us to let go of the past and trust God to be our vindicator. It is, of course, not easy, but it is easier than remaining a victim. God wants to give us victory, but we need a victorious mind-set. Where the mind goes the man follows (see Proverbs 23:7). If our thinking is according to the truth found in God’s Word, then our living will ultimately be what God intended for us also.
If you have been a victim and you feel that the things you suffered are still affecting you, try this: Lie in bed for a few minutes after waking up and think some thoughts on purpose. Think like this: This is the day God has made and given to me as a gift. I will not waste it! My past is behind me, and nothing from the past can have any effect on me if I don’t allow it to. God is on my side, and I choose to live this day energetically, enthusiastically, and passionately. By the grace of God, I will get up and put my time into things that have purpose. I resist the devil, and he will not steal my time today!
Be prepared to do this day after day, and you will soon begin to see results. It takes time to renew the mind, so don’t be disappointed if you do not get immediate results. It is great if you do get them, but at least be prepared not to give up and to be determined to keep doing the right thing. Beginning each day with this mind-set helps you get your day started right.
Perhaps millions of people lie in bed each day and think, I don’t want to get up. My life is miserable. Nothing good ever happens to me. All my life people have taken advantage of me. I hate my life and I dread facing another day. I woke up daily for many years with some version of this type of thinking. I was miserable, and I made myself more miserable with my own thoughts and attitude. I was unaware that I could do anything about my life, so I remained a victim. But, thank God, He has given me the victory through Christ! He wants to give that same victory to anyone who has been a victim and needs redemption.
But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ.
I Corinthians 15:57 (AMPC)
Seizing the day means that we live life “on purpose.” We don’t wait for things to happen to us; we happen to things! We live aggressively, we take action, we think, we plan, and we go for the best! We are born with a temperament chosen by God, and admittedly we are not all alike. Some people are naturally more driven than others, but God has not ordained that anyone be passive, inactive, apathetic, and purposeless. No matter how God has designed you, it is important that you become fully you and that you glorify God with your life.
We don’t wait for things to happen to us; we happen to things!
When I suggest that we live life “on purpose,” that doesn’t mean we all have a world-shaking purpose. Our purposes vary at different seasons of our life. When I was eighteen, my purpose was to get away from my father who was abusing me, get a job, and become able to take care of myself. By the time I was twenty-three, I was divorced, a single parent, and lonely. My purpose was to survive, pay my bills, find good child care, and, hopefully, someday be truly loved. When I was thirty, my purpose was to raise the three children I had by then, learn to be a good wife, keep my house clean, cook three meals a day, and live within a very limited budget.
God was part of my life from the age of nine, but a very small part. I kept Him on the sidelines of my life for emergencies only. Although I was a Christian, I had no idea what was available to me as a believer in Jesus. I continued to struggle through each day with a sour attitude, doing the best I could to live life.
By the time I was forty, I had embarked on a much more serious relationship with God. I was studying His Word and actually working at a church and teaching a Bible study. I was in the process of healing from all the emotional wounds I had and was beginning to see that I no longer had to be a victim. Now I am over seventy and have lived life “on purpose” for many, many years. I know the results firsthand of living as a victim and living with victory. Victory is available to everyone, but it must be seized. It will not merely happen to us. It is a gift from God and is given by His grace, but the devil is always lurking close by, hoping to steal what God offers. We must therefore live with intention, purpose, and an attitude that says, I will have what belongs to me as a child of God! I will not be cheated! I will seize the day!
The apostle Paul had this attitude, and we can see it clearly in his letter to the Philippians. He wrote that he intended to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus had taken hold of him:
I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.
Philippians 3:12
In the same chapter of the Bible, Paul also made a firm statement declaring his determined purpose. He said that his determined purpose was to know God and the power of His resurrection that lifted him out from among the dead even while he was in his body (see Philippians 3:10–11). Wow! I can feel the power of Paul’s determination. He knew what God wanted for him, and he was going to seize it, subdue it, and take back all the devil had stolen from him through deception.
Just writing these things increases my passion to live life to the fullest, and I hope reading them does the same thing for you.
The devil is actively at work, and he is relentless in his pursuit of doing evil. This Scripture describes him well:
He lurks in secret places like a lion in his thicket; he lies in wait that he may seize the poor (the helpless and the unfortunate); he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
Psalm 10:9 (AMPC)
The poor spoken of in this verse refers not only to those who have a financial lack, but also to those who are poor in being loved, knowing truth, or having spiritual knowledge. The poor are those who are downtrodden and disadvantaged in any way. Satan waits to take advantage of us, but God is ready to rescue and redeem. The choice is ours. Whom will we believe? Will we sink into our pain and wallow there, or rise with determination in our hearts and seize the life God sent Jesus to purchase for us?
God’s Word makes it plain that we will need to seize the Kingdom because we have an enemy who is working to steal it from us:
And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize—–a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion].
Matthew 11:12 (AMPC)
A closer look at this scripture in the original language it was written in reveals that Jesus is stating that the Kingdom of God has suffered attack, but the “energetic” take it by force. The Kingdom of God has suffered violence, meaning it has suffered attack. Satan is relentless in attacking God’s Kingdom and His purpose in the earth. However, there is an answer to the situation. The violent (the energetic) take it by force. They take back what the devil has stolen. They are determined, and they seize each day for the purposes of God. I like the language of the Amplified Bible in this verse: “A share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion.”
If you feel that you are lacking this kind of drive and energy, I recommend that you begin praying for it. I pray the following prayer often: “I ask for energy, zeal, enthusiasm, and passion to live this day. Let me be an on-purpose person who seizes the day and uses it in the best way possible.”
I am not a lazy person, but neither am I a high-energy, bounce-out-of-bed-each-day-with-exuberant-zeal type. However, I am very determined, and that overrides any lack of feeling I might have. Recently it occurred to me that I might pray for those feelings. After all, the Bible says we have not because we ask not (see James 4:2). After I prayed, as so often is the case, God led me to do some specific things like eating more protein and taking some additional nutrition that was not part of my regimen. As I have mentioned, God answers prayer, and one of the ways He does this is by showing us what we need to do. You won’t get a good result if you pray for energy, then you don’t get enough sleep, eat junk food, are nutritionally depleted, get no exercise, and have a negative mind-set. With God, all things are possible, but they are not automatic. We must cooperate with Him and take obedient action. When Jesus’ mother asked for a miracle from Him, she then turned to the people and said:
Whatever He says to you, do it.
John 2:5 (AMPC)
They did as He commanded, and they got their miracle. It is often just that simple! There are situations where no matter what we do, nothing changes and we need to wait patiently for God to do what no man can do; however, if He asks us to do something, we certainly need to do it.
As I have continued to pray and do the things God is leading me to do, I have had a noticeable increase in actual physical energy, and it feels good! Energy makes every day better, so I encourage you to think about this area of your life, pray, and then do your part in taking good care of yourself so you can become the healthiest person you can possibly be.
The apostle Mark gives us another thing to ponder in his letter:
But no one can go into a strong man’s house and ransack his household goods right and left and seize them as plunder unless he first binds the strong man; then indeed he may [thoroughly] plunder his house.
Mark 3:27 (AMPC)
Earlier in Mark chapter 3, a crowd had gathered against Jesus and was accusing Him of doing the works He did with the help of Beelzebub (the devil). They said He was casting out demons with the help of the prince of demons (see Mark 3:21–26).
Jesus answered by telling them a parable. He said that no one could enter a strong man’s house and rob him unless he first bound the strong man. His meaning was that He was setting people free and doing the miracles He did because He was first binding the strong man (the devil) who was causing their problems. The lesson for us is that we also can bind the devil and keep him from stealing our lives, but it requires action.
Sometimes the simple choice to be active keeps the enemy bound. He works through passivity, laziness, and inactivity, but when we are actively doing what God has given us to do, the enemy finds no open door into our lives.
What should you do if you know what you should do but you just don’t want to do it enough to make you take action? I think this is a valid question and one that we should deal with. I can write one hundred books on what to do, but people won’t do it unless they possess a “want to” in their spirit that overrides any resistance in the flesh.
I recommend that you focus on Jesus, how much He loves you and what He has done for you. As you receive His love and let it amaze you, you will find yourself wanting to do all that He asks you to do. The development of your personal relationship with God is very important, because it is the foundation for all obedience. Jesus said, “If you [really] love Me, you will keep and obey My commandments” (John 14:15). The apostle John wrote that we love Him because He first loved us (see I John 4:19); therefore, receiving God’s love will cause you to love Him in return, and out of that love you will obey Him.
What should you do if you know what you should do but you just don’t want to do it?
Struggling to do the right thing by willpower alone only helps to a small degree. When we run out of our own strength, which we all do, then we need the power of God (His grace) to bring us through to the finish. Because this book is filled with encouragement for you to be aggressive, active, enthusiastic, passionate, and filled with zeal, it is also important that I warn you of the dangers of “works of the flesh.” These are things we try to do in our own effort and strength that can only be done with God’s help. “God, help me” is one of the most important prayers we need to pray throughout each day of our lives.
The things I am encouraging you to do in this book are not things you need to do in order to be saved or to be loved by God. Those are free gifts! I simply want you to live the best life that God has for you by encouraging you to seize each day and use your time wisely.
We need mega doses of God’s grace in order to do what is right, and His grace is always available and it abounds and overflows. He offers us grace and more grace! All the help we need is available if we will ask and receive. Jesus said to ask and keep on asking (see Matthew 7:7). If you feel weak in determination, passion, zeal, or enthusiasm, don’t think this book is just not for you. It is especially for you, because God has a purpose and a plan and you are a big part of it. Keep reading, keep praying, and believe that today is your day for something great. Remember:
Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.
Mother Teresa11
• The truth of God’s Word sets you free.
• Victory comes when you have a victorious mind-set, not a victim mentality.
• Seizing the day means we live life “on purpose.”
• You can choose an attitude that says, “I will have what belongs to me as a child of God! I will not be cheated! I will seize the day!”
• When we are actively doing what God has given us to do, the enemy finds no open door into our lives.