By Chris WittsFriday 17 Mar 2023Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
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Transcript:
The little boy was in the habit of saying his prayers each day before heading off to school. That this one day he was running late and he prayed, “Lord, help me to be there on time. He rushed out of the house, not watching where he was going. He stumbled and fell. Lord,” he said. “I asked you to help me, not to push me.” I think it’s a cute story, but there’s a lesson for us. Who or what is pushing you? Are you rushing to too much into the day, not giving enough thought to what really is important?
You’ve only got 24 hours each day to live and make a contribution to life. And I think it’s important not to waste time, because really, time is precious. Time is an entirely nonrenewable resource. Once time passes, it’s gone forever. No matter how much we wish, we just can’t get it back. Have you ever stopped and said Where did today go? I haven’t accomplished very much. I think I’ve wasted too much time.
We do need to know our values and priorities and consider time in their light. In other words, make deliberate choices on how you spend and use your time. If you look back on your life, have the years been productive? Have I lived them to their fullest from a place of love? Did I recognise that time is precious, or did I live a bit too much of it in a wasteful kind of way? Times Strange thing. We can find ways to make things take less time.
We can manufacture tools and devices to help us accomplish more in less time, and that’s been good. But there’s nothing we can do to manipulate or take control of time itself. It just moves on at the same rate of speed it always has hour by hour, minute by minute and second by second. I believe the Bible’s got some very helpful words of wisdom coming from God himself. It was David the King and the shepherd who wrote in Psalm 39 – “Show Me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is. You’ve made my days a mere hand breadth. The span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. Now they’re challenging words from Psalm 39. James says something similar. James Chapter four, Verse 14. “What Is Your Life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” And Paul in Ephesians five, cautions us – “Look carefully, then how you walk. Not as unwise, but as wise making the best use of time because the days are evil.”
Did you know that time is the most precious commodity we have? If we waste time, there’s nothing we can do to bring it back. It was the country band Alabama who put out a song number of years ago, which has this chorus that describes a common lifestyle of our generation. I’m in a hurry to get things done. I rush and rush until life’s no fun. All I really got to do is live and die, but I’m in a hurry and I don’t know why God, in his grace has given us all the same amount of time and the quality, joy and impact of our lives are directly related to how wisely we use this time.
We have to just think for a moment about Jesus. The Bible never says that he rushed anywhere. He was a very busy person, but he found time to pray, and his total ministry was accomplished in three years. But he found time to play with Children, to investigate a fig tree, take a nap during a boat ride, to rest at noon beside a well. He attended a wedding reception and many other occasions.
So when you waste time, you lose time. Napoleon Hill famously wrote, “Don’t Wait. The time will never be just right.” Steve Martin, the actor, is the star of the movie Cheaper by the dozen. In the movie, Steve faces a choice between his dream job as a coach of a major college football team and taking care of his large family. He chooses his family and says, “If I mess up raising these kids, then nothing else matters.” Now there is a statement of priority.
God has placed you and me on this earth for a reason, and I think you need to discover what it is, and once you do, you won’t want to waste time again. The days can be spent in his service to please him, to use your energy and your talents for him and serve other people, Solomon said in Ecclesiastes Chapter three – there is a time for everything in the life of any individual. And if we are to be successful as God wants, then every moment must count.
Let’s Pray
Dear God, here it is. Time, we can’t make it hurry up or slow it down. And yet we are prone to wasting time. God help us to be good stewards, using the time in the best way for you and for other people, amen.