Beth Moore shared a thought-provoking story in one of her bible studies. She and her husband had gone to their favorite restaurant for dinner, a place which they frequented on a regular basis. When the waiter came to their table, Beth asked him the same question she posed every time: “ How are you this evening?” at which point the waiter looked at his watch and said the same thing he always said: “ I’m good, I’m getting off in just a few minutes.”
Have you ever felt like that? I know I have; especially when I am too self-focused or think that what I need to do has no value or purpose. I admit I don’t always live each moment or even each day with the right emphasis on how best to spend the time God has given me; but I know I need to be accountable to God and not waste this wonderful gift.
Truthfully, our actions define whether time is our enemy or our ally; whether it will be used wisely or be wasted, it is up to us. Controlling our time wisely means living our life the way God intended, getting the most out of it and making a difference in other people’s lives.
Ephesians 2:10 MSG is a great reminder – “Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing”.
In the book, The Daniel Dilemma, Chris Hodges says: “Don’t forget your days are numbered”; but somehow we often do and we live life like there is no tomorrow focusing on things that make us happy or feel good. Chris goes on to provide a wonderful reminder that we need to find our God-given purpose, God’s will for our life and make the most of it.
“I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.” Psalm 57:2
We are all going to be held accountable for the way we spend this precious time. I encourage you to start every morning first and foremost by thanking God for another beautiful day – a day given to enjoy and use wisely. God has ordained each new day with His good plans for us and the opportunity to do what is right. All we need to do is ask Him to be with us each moment, since He knows what the day will bring. We should celebrate His plan by living the day honoring Him and rejoicing in each moment, not focusing on future ones.
All our earthly moments in life, until eternal life, are part of living out God’s plan. There is much to learn in making wise decisions on how we will use our time. Are we willing to learn, or will we repeat poor decisions through irresponsible management of our time. We need to treasure every moment we have and live like there is no tomorrow, savoring every moment!
James tells us life is like a vapor, here one moment and gone the next: "...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. " (James 4:14 NKJV).
Ask yourself these questions:
· What would you start doing differently if you knew what God knows about our time on earth?
· What would you stop doing?
Beth Moore summarized our Bible study with this clever message: “There is going to come a time unbeknownst to us when God is going to look at HIS watch and say: ‘You’re getting off in just a few minutes’ “.
Let’s pray:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the life You have given us, for the beating of our hearts and the breath in our lungs. Help us steward Your gift of time wisely and live our lives so we don’t waste one minute. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
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