Service for Jim Middleton: One Day at a Time

Intro:

Today, we are here to celebrate the life of a husband, father, grandfather, relative, and friend— Jim Middleton.

On behalf of the family, I want to thank everyone for you: words of encouragement, prayers, food, thoughts, and support during this difficult time in their lives.

As I prayed about what to share for this service, the Lord laid Psalms 90 on my heart. I specifically want to focus on:

Psalm 90:12 NKJV

12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

For the next few moments, the title of my message is, [One Day at a Time].

I have heard the saying, the days are long, but the years are short. While it is an oft used phrase, there is truth to the statement.

Life is full of days. There are BIG days that we remember forever. Then there are the mundane tasks that consume our days, but often make life enjoyable.

In the obituary for Jim, we read that he was seventy-six-years-old when he passed. But instead of years, this morning I want to look at the days of Jim’s life.

From the day of his birth to the day of his passing, Jim lived 27,856 days on earth. Of course, those who loved him most would love to have just a few more days with him.

But in the days God gave him, there were BIG, MONUMENTAL days in his life:

The day he joined the United States Army

The day he married Sharon and they carted their belongings in a suitcase and moved to Germany

The day he became a father to Tim and Kim

There was the day he supported Tim as he finished basic training

or the day he walked Kim down the aisle

I know he was thankful for the day he and Sharon celebrated their fifty years of marriage!

There were just SOME of the big days. One this I discerned about Jim, he LOVED:

his wife

his children

but he LOOOVED his grandson Nick.

Undoubtedly he he beamed with pride on the DAY that Nick:

graduated high school

enlisted in the service

he got to add a granddaughter with Selena when Nick married

even in his weak condition, he did not want to miss the day nick finished basic training

He was proud to know that Nick was going to keep the family tradition of moving to Germany with the Army.

But these are the BIG days. These are the days that have pictures or videos as a marker. But life is not full of just BIG days, they are made up of small days, where something seemingly insignificant happens, but they became some of the best memories.

And as the days move forward and the family adjusts to a new normal, the small days will bring back memories that will both give strength and cause a sigh of sadness.

It would be impossible to discuss all the days that Jim had with his family:

the days he went to work

the days he and Sharon went back and forth the Farmington

the days he traveled to visit Kim and Dave

the days he spend with Tim and his family

the days made over his kids if perhaps mom got too hard on them

Life is full of days and the Psalmist asks God, teach me to number my days. Why would the Psalmist make such a request?

Whenever someone passes, there is always a part of us that wishes we had a few more days with them. So Scripture encourages us to pay attention to the importance of each day.

Funeral services serve a dual purpose, on one part, we all reminisce about the past and celebrate the life of the one who is gone.

The other purpose is to gain strength to adjust to a new normal. I want to help with that part looking at Psalms 90. This was a Psalm of Moses, likely his only Psalm.

He focuses on the Eternity of God and the frailty of man. And he asks God, teach me to number my days. Sadly, each loved one of Jim will now face days without Jim close to them.

The question might arise, how will we make it moving forward. The answer, One Day at a Time.

Let’s look at three requests Moses made at the end of Psalms 90, through these verses, we can ask God to, [Teach us Everyday], [Satisfy Us every Day], and [Establish us Everyday].

1. Teach us Everyday

Psalms 90:12

Moses spent the first eleven verses on this Psalm speaking about God’s identity and immortality. He shows that from beginning to end, God will always be God.

He sees everything that people face. He is always there. He never leaves, forsakes, or forgets His people.

Then he compares our lives and situation to God. He shows that while God is eternal, we are not. So he humbly requests of the Lord, teach us, help us learn to realize the brevity of life.

Having this perspective of life will enable us to grow in wisdom.

James 4:14 NKJV

14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

Whenever we lose someone, we always ask, how will we face tomorrow?

God has answer, every day we should ask Him to teach and He will give us wisdom to navigate this life.

We need God to teach us everyday, and to...

2. Satisfy us Everyday

Psalm 90:13–15 NKJV

13 Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. 14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days! 15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, The years in which we have seen evil.

Knowing the difference between God and us, Moses identifies that true satisfaction in life requires the mercy of God.

I love that the Lord is:

compassionate

merciful

helpful

While today is a day of sorrow and sadness, each day moving forward God will give new strength and help. He will enable us to live the life that He desires for us.

When we look to Jesus everyday, He will satisfy every longing and desire in our hearts. He made this clear during His Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5:4 NKJV

4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

Matthew 5:6 NKJV

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

Every time that we turn to the Lord in our:

grief

sadness

questions

sorrow

or pain

God is there, ready to hear us, help us, encourage us, and strengthen us.

I love the song that says, “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine with ten thousands beside. Great is Thy Faithfulness.”

When we ask God to teach and satisfy us everyday, He will help us!

3. Establish us Everyday

Psalm 90:16–17 NKJV

16 Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children. 17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.

When I read that word establish two times in the same sentence, I wondered exactly why Moses used that word. What Moses asked of God was to permanently help him, to let him be established, firmly rooted in peace of God.

Losing a husband, father, and grandfather can seem to turn our lives upside down. But, we have a heavenly Father who wants to walk with us. He desires to be a permanent fixture in our lives.

Psalm 40:1–3 NKJV

1 I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. 2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. 3 He has put a new song in my mouth— Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.

There is hope today, because God hears every cry and He listens when we feel like we can’t make it another day.

He will reach down His loving hands and establish our steps. He will keep us moving forward.

I once heard a poem that describes this truth:

day by day the Manna fell

oh that we would learn this well

day by day God will provide

if we will walk humbly by His side

Close:

I know the days ahead will look vastly different than they have in the past, but we have this hope, that every day God will teach us, satisfy us, and establish us.

God is a good God and He is faithful.

Anyone who has known of Jim’s illness knows that it has lasted for some time. Every time I spoke to Sharon about it, she would always include in the conversation, we are taking One Day at at Time.

That has been their prayer through all of this. Since Jim has passed and I prayed about this service, those words have stuck out to me— One Day at a Time.

Often when we pray, we do not get the answer immediately or in the way we think it might come. But when we pray, God listens and wants to answer!

There are few specific days that come back to my mind as I think over the past couple of months.

The first day was on a Sunday morning at church. We had a time of prayer, and Sharon stood in for Jim. We gathered around her and prayed for God to help Jim.

Within a few days, he had to go to Missouri Baptist.

Then I visited with him in Piedmont, and we prayed together for God’s help.

Then a day that sticks out in my mind was when I went to Farmington to see him. I shared a passage of Scripture with Him:

Romans 10:13 NKJV

13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Together, he, Sharon, and I prayed, and each of us called on the name of Jesus to save and to help!

I know that God honors His word and He hears the prayers of those who call on Him with sincerity.

Then, a week ago Thursday, I spoke with Sharon outside of his room in ICU and she explained that his time was coming close. Once again, we joined together and prayed, calling on the name of Jesus.

I am thoroughly convinced that Jesus has heard the prayers of this family and will continue to hear your prayers. All we have to do is call on His name.

As the song says:

One day at a time, sweet Jesus Thats all I'm asking of You

Just give me the strength to do everyday What I have to do

Yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus And tomorrow may never be mine God help me today Show me the way One day at a time

God is going to help Sharon, Tim and Joy, Kim and Dave, Nick and Selena, and everyone else who knew and loved Jim.

His help could come all at once, but more often than not, He shows up to help us One Day at a Time.

As we close in prayer, I want to share with everyone what I shared with Jim, all we have to do is call on His name.

2 Corinthians 6:2 NKJV

2 For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Today would be a great day to call on Him, to enter a relationship with Him. Doing so will open a door for Him to teach us everyday, satisfy us everyday, and establish us everyday.