Monday, January 4, 2021
Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea and a path through the mighty waters, Who brings forth the chariot and the horse, the army and the mighty man (they will lie down together and not rise again; they have been quenched and extinguished like a wick): "Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:16-19
Here We Are Again
Here we are again, at the beginning of another year. Many of us don’t know what to think about 2021 after what 2020 threw at us. None of us predicted that for sure, but one thing we all as believers agree on, God was not surprised. He was not surprised by 2020 and he has 2021 in the palm of His hand. He is in control and whatever comes, He remains on the throne and wins the final battle.
The question before us is really what will we choose to do with this year? We have been given the gift of another year, or at least a day, and we have a decision to make as to how we will steward this time given to us.Ephesians 5:15 – 17 says Be very careful, then, how you live not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is. In this verse Paul is telling us that we need to be careful, and use our time wisely because the days are evil. Satan is waiting and hoping. He is hoping that we will fall, and we will waste this one precious and valuable life that God has given us. We do fall and we do waste many days, but if we are intentional and get up as fast as we can all is not lost. Satan would have us believe that one failure is forever. He would have us believe that we will never be different. He wants us to give up and live in “If Only” for the rest of our lives. Living with this mindset is living in defeat, as if nothing in our lives can change unless some circumstance in our life changes. The truth is that the only thing that needs to change is our hearts. That is where any change in our lives begins.
I confess, I do not make New Year’s resolutions anymore. Every year I do set some goals and the main thing is that I want to be better every day than I was the day before. But the older I get, the more important it is to me to make the most of every opportunity. Every year it becomes more and more clear what is truly important in this life and I think 2020 did that for all of us.
Time is the resource we spend for the accomplishment of a successful life.
Wasted time is sin. – Van Houser
Time certainly has a definite impact in all of our lives. And we deal differently with time in different stages of our lives. When we were young we tended to wish time away. We were always waiting for something---for some future event to happen. It might have been a birthday, or a vacation, or Christmas. Time seemed to move incredibly slow back then. And the time between the present and that longed for event was always wished away. We always wanted to grow up more quickly.
To some degree we still do this. But this is a false dealing with time. By wishing for some future day to arrive we may miss the present entirely. But we still wish. We wish for the day that we will graduate from high school, then college. We wish for the day we will be married to the one we love. We wish for the day we will begin that new job. We wish for the day we can buy that new home. We wish for the day when our children will be on their own. We wish for the day when we will retire. These are all good milestones, but what about today? Living this way is the “If Only” way. If Only _____, then I would _______. We have been given the gift of time. The Lord does not intend for us to waste it waiting for If Only…
How will you make the most of every opportunity in 2021? Don’t waste another minute - start right now! God has great plans for you this year!
