I heard a preacher this past Sunday, and I enjoyed his message very much. I want to paraphrase part of it in today's devotion.
Suppose at the beginning of each day, your bank credited your account with $86,400. You were free to spend as much as you wanted. But at the end of the day, whatever you did not spend would be debited back out of your account. What would you do? Most of us would spend every single cent of it so we did not lose it. Well, at the beginning of every day, God gives each of us 86,400 seconds to spend as we choose. At the end of the day, whatever we did not use is gone forever. But there is a difference between the money and the seconds. We may not spend some of the money, but we do spend every single second He gives us. Unfortunately, most of us "spend" some of those seconds by wasting them.
What would you consider is wasting time? There is not a clear-cut definition for that, as it varies depending on each person. I personally believe that resting is not necessarily wasting time. We all need some time to just sit and do nothing. I think that is healthy. But something I started doing while I am "resting" is praying. Praying is certainly not wasting time. But think about all the time that is wasted through the day by means out of our control. Waiting in traffic, on-hold on the phone, doctors' offices, TV commercials, and many other things really add up the seconds each day. Maybe we can be creative and find a way to do something constructive during those times. Again, I have found that praying is the most constructive thing I can do. If we prayed to Jesus every single second that we were"waiting", just think how much closer we could get to Him. 86, 400 seconds. How will you spend yours?
Ephesians 5:16-17 says, "Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. "
Father, thank you for giving us so much time through the day. Please teach us to use it in a Godly way, and to not waste any of it. In Jesus name, Amen.
Your blog was recommended to me by my friend, Tracy of Tracy's Corner. I followed the link on her blog to get here. So far, I have only read this first post and already like it.
ReplyDeleteYour suggestion to pray when we have to wait is a very good one. I also carry a Bible in my purse (they make them small enough now) and that way if I have to wait for a long period of time, like at a doctor's office, I can read God's word.