PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• When we were driving back from Cincinnati last Sunday, I distracted myself from staring at the car ceiling by scrolling through Facebook (bad passenger; can’t look out the window while my husband is driving). I bookmarked an image that a Facebook friend has posted—“Things We Can’t Buy.” I don’t write them often, but occasionally, I will write a series.
Guess what I’m about to do? A series!
I think this is important any time of year, but especially as Thanksgiving is next week and Christmas is around the corner. First up in the series “Things We Can’t Buy:” Time.
The Bible speaks so much about time, I think we could talk about it every day for a month and still have plenty to say. God invented time (Genesis 1:1-31). His timing is not like ours (Psalm 90:4). His timing is perfect (Habakkuk 2:3). Use your time wisely (Colossians 4:5). Jesus is timeless (Hebrews 13:8). You may have been born for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). We do not know the day or time when Jesus will return (Matthew 24:36).
But let’s go to Proverbs 27:1, which says, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring” (ESV).
We treat time as though we have plenty of it. As if we are not only promised tomorrow, but we are entitled to it. It’s such a fallacy to think this way. We don’t have the promise of tomorrow and time isn’t at our disposal.
God gives us the gift of time and it’s our job to do something purposeful with it. Let’s hop a few chapters back. Proverbs 6:6-8 says, “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest (ESV).
While God is capable of all, He is not going to force us to use our time wisely. But we need to be prepared to suffer the consequences if we don’t take advantage of the time we’re given.
We have time to work, to rest, to share the Gospel, to worship, to laugh, to play. God knows how much time we’ve been allotted. And He wants us to utilize it wisely.
Today, as you pray, thank God for the gift of time. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you be a wise steward of your time. Ask Him for direction and clarity for the opportunities that cross your path, that no matter how you spend your time, you will use it to His glory.
