WASTE NOT YOUR SHORT LIFE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JULY 11, 2023.

SUBJECT: WASTE NOT YOUR SHORT LIFE!

Memory verse: “Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow." (Psalm 144 vs 4.)

READ: Psalm 39 vs 4 - 6:

39:4: “LORD, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am.

39:5: Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.

39:6: Surely every man walks about like a shadow; surely they busy themselves in vain; he heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them.

INTIMATION: 

Life is short. In our anchor Scripture, David reminds us that it “is like a breath” and that our “days are like a passing shadow.” The apostle James puts it this way, “Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4 vs 14). And because life is short, a good, proper, and adequate use of it should be everyone’s target. 

The clarity of the shortness of man’s life is enunciated in Job’s despondent prayer: “Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue. Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass. But man dies and is laid away; indeed he breathes his last and where is he? As water disappears from the sea, and a river becomes parched and dries up, So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor roused from their sleep.” (Job 14 vs 1 - 2; 5; 10 - 12.)

What then is the good, proper, and adequate use of your short life? It’s living for God—living by the word of God—the will of God for you; living in consonance with God’s predestined purposes for your life. Consequently, you should live for God while you have the time. Don’t waste your life by selecting an inferior purpose that has no lasting value. Only God can make your life worthwhile, purposeful, and meaningful. 

Ironically, people spend so much time securing their lives on earth but take little or no thought about where they will spend eternity. The Scripture is very clear on the fact that amassing riches and busily accomplishing worldly tasks would not secure you eternity with Christ.

Many are blindfolded in the deceitfulness of worldly pleasures, and standards. Worldly standards use honor, power, wealth, or prestige to measure people. And the worldly thinking is that such people are really getting ahead in life. But on God’s scale, these people are a puff of air. Worldly standards and pleasures are insignificant in God’s standard of measurement.

What, then, can tilt the scales when God weighs us? It is trusting in God and working for Him. Wealth, honor, power, or prestige add nothing in our value in God’s eyes, only the faithful work we do for Him has eternal value. 

Life is short no matter how many years we live. Don’t be deceived into thinking that you have lots of remaining time to do what you please now, and later live for Christ, thereby oscillating between life in Christ and worldly pleasures. Because life is short, do what is truly important; start living for God today! Then, no matter when your life ends, you would have fulfilled God’s plan for you. You must not put it off for what you may consider a better day. Now is the time! Start with surrendering your life to Christ now.

Whatever you have on earth is only temporary. It cannot be exchanged for your soul. If you work hard at getting what you want, you might eventually have a pleasurable life, but in the end you will find it hollow and empty when it is outside the Will of God for you. Are you willing to make the pursuit of God more important than selfish pursuits? Follow Jesus, and you will know what it means to live abundantly now and happily ever after to eternity with Christ. 

Possessions, and pleasures are good only if gotten within the ambit of God’s law and Will. It’s good to have them because they are good in themselves, but they can disappoint us if we leave God out of them. There is no point doing anything in your short life as though God does not exist, because the future is in His hands. 

Nothing, not even life itself, can compare to what we gain in Christ. He wants us to choose to follow Him rather than to lead a life of sin and self-satisfaction. He wants us to stop trying to control our own destiny and to let Him direct us. This makes good sense because, as the Creator, Christ knows better than we do what real life is about. Jesus asks us only to lose our self-centered determination to be in charge of our lives; He asks for our submission, not self-hatred. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are the Creator and Owner of the universe. All things are under Your control and for Your predetermined purposes. Give me the grace to live for You in my short span of life on earth, and earn Your approval for a crown of life in eternity with You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!