Time Is on Our Side. Is It?
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12
I have been thinking about time a lot lately. As working parents of a young toddler, time is scarce, and it forces you to plan each week wisely. A few months back, my wife and I were reading through some parenting books and we learnt that from your child’s moment of birth until he or she graduates from college, you have about 936 weeks. This fact really challenged me to be intentional with my time with my daughter and to make purposeful use of the weekends and the 1–2 hours I have with her each day during the week (sad, I know). A powerful illustration is if you fill up a jar with 936 marbles at her birth, and after each week, take one out and ask yourself, “Did I make this one count?” It's a sobering thought.
In this lifetime, God has already determined how many weeks we have (Psalm 139:16), and only He knows how many is left. It is so easy for us to take tomorrow or next week for granted because we are still here breathing alive and well, and tomorrow feels like a given. Oftentimes we are only aware of how fleeting our time is when we experience loss or severe illness. “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.” Psalm 39:4
My prayer is that life does not have to turn sour for us to realise our days are numbered. I pray for God to teach us about the great urgency to live for the things that are truly important. Let us be reminded that every day we have is given to us by His grace, and it is our great responsibility to steward and use it well. Time is NOT on our side – it can cease at any given moment. So let us be wise in how we live for God.
Let us look at our calendar with purpose and reverence to God when we plan our next week.
Father God, direct my choices, however great or small, this week, so that I can take each marble out with confidence that I have made this one count not for myself, but for You!
Practice time not on our side by:
- Thanking God for each morning when you wake up
- Asking God to put intentionality and urgency on your heart each day to achieve His focus