No More Time to Waste

​1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” ~NLT

Last Thursday, June 2nd, marked thirty-six years since I graduated from High School. I bring this up as an example of ‘time’ in our lives. I always hear people say, “You are not promised tomorrow!” My question, on the day of my anniversary, was, “What if I lived those 36 years with 'that' mind-set? What would have been wasted by me living and thinking with even the slightest notion of my life being over that next day?”

​Then, I began thinking about what I actually did during that time frame. What I did, and what I didn’t do. How many of those years did I waste, not spending time with my children? Not spending quality time with my wife. With my dad when he was alive? With my mother? Then I began to think about the day I was saved. And all those years before that, when I didn’t dedicate my life to God’s work in this world.

I have always been a God-fearing man. But I learned later in life that I wasn’t living my life according to God’s will for it. And then it hit me…my actions during those years contributed to the mission of the enemy. If I didn’t love my neighbor, If I didn’t maintain self-control, if I lacked patience, and gave into anger, I was contributing to the mission of the enemy.

When I idolized alcohol more than my worship of the Father, the enemy’s mission was being fulfilled. Choosing to give into my fleshly desires kept me from strengthening my spirit. Looking back with the Word, now on my heart, I know that the Lord did not create me to follow ‘me’; He created me to follow ‘Him’.

All those years made it hard to trust the ways of the Lord because I had ‘practiced’ doing things my way under my control. Now I needed to develop good new habits, that would strengthen my spirit and allow my heart to trust in the Lord and His way. I had to learn that we are all created to be like Jesus Christ.

Just as the Bible speaks of Isaiah announcing the coming of Christ as the savior, (Isaiah 9:6); and just as John spoke of how he was preparing others for the coming of the Messiah, (John 1:19-27); trust and know that God created each and every one of us to walk in the image of His Son.

To save lives. To teach others about God through our testimonies of what He has done for us and others in our lives. Let us not get caught up in the notion of, “We are not promised tomorrow”. Let us not waste any more of the time God allows us. Instead, let us always be joyful about Him being in our lives! Let us never stop praying to Him in good times and bad! And let us always be thankful in all circumstances as we know that God works out everything for the good of all who love Him!

Without question, “…this is God’s will…” for us. Let us take a hold of this Word of God, His Promise to us, and never let it go! Cherish the years of life and this day forward make it a point to serve the Lord as you live to serve others. May God keep you safe, strong, and healed as you continue your journey in Jesus’ name,

Amen

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