A little food for weekend thought--
"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." (Eph.5:15-16)
Thank You, Lord, for the gift of Your wise Word...and for the gift of Your wise people. Today a sweet friend gave me such good advice, and oh my, how thankful I am. Well, truth be told, she gave me great advice both today and yesterday. And the funny thing is, her wise counsel completely confirmed what God has been trying to teach me over recent weeks. But sometimes I'm a mighty slow learner. Yeah okay, I'm pretty much always a slow learner...but praise God for grace. And for second chances. And for a Lord who never gives up on us.
The wise counsel--both from the friend and from the Word--essentially related to being wise about what we commit to and how we spend our limited time and energy. Because here's the thing: our lives are finite. Duh, you say? Sure, but do we live that way? Do we live recognizing the Lord has given us a certain number of days and hours, and how we use each of those moments matters?
It's said that the average life consists of about 28,000 days. Some more. Some less. If Duke continues to win national championships in basketball, I'm guessing my weeping and gnashing of teeth will significantly reduce that number for yours truly...but I digress. (See, there's my problem.)
Like I was saying, with an average of 28,000 days, how many days have we wasted doing what God never called us to do? How many days spent watching mindless TV programs? How many days consuming junk--whether food or reading material? How many days squandered by living miserably in bitterness...or envy...or irritation? How many days overshadowed by our harsh, critical spirit or our ungrateful heart?
How many days have we missed the mark by failing to love--in word and deed--those irreplaceable people God has loaned us for our brief time on earth? And how many days have been tragically lost, because we've failed to worship and adore the Lord who loves us and made us to enjoy Him forever?
Well, back to that wise advice. In my case, God used this friend to gently but clearly remind me that we must learn to say no to the things God has not called us to do so we can yes to the things He has. There are plenty of good things--even great things--we could do. But I needed to recall that even lots of these good things I cannot and should not do, because they're not the things that God's told me to do.
The Lord has not called me--or you--to do everything. But He has called us each to do some things. Those things that only we can do. Like--
Cherish the people in our lives.
Love our children, spouse, parents, siblings, friends. Love them well. For me, that means not loving them with the leftovers of my limited time and strength.
Do the work with which He's gifted us. (Yes, note to self--our God-given work is a gift, not a burden. Do it with gratitude and joy.)
Love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. (Lk10:27)
Those are the things we're (or at least I'm) called to do. That, to me, in the words of Eph.5:15, is walking wisely and making the best use of my time. If how I'm thinking of spending my time doesn't fit into any of those categories, then God's likely in it...not will He bless it.
But this necessitates saying no to plenty of other stuff. Some good stuff...some not so good, but still tempting. Filling up on the junk of worldly pursuits that distract us and distance us from God and those we love. Giving in to persuasive arguments that we're "missing out" is we don't do this or that. Saying "yes" to some request that we have no business saying yes to simply out of the desire to please or not disappoint or impress.
And every misplaced yes means we're essentially saying no to the people we love and the God we worship.
Loved this quote I just heard from Churchill. It was in a radically different context, as it was 1938 and Churchill was speaking to the United States and Great Britain and their critical need to face up to and confront the evils of Nazism. But, boy, his simple words sure spoke to me--
Churchill declared, "Alexander the Great remarked that the people of Asia were slaves because they had not learned to pronounce the word 'No.'"
If we want to be enslaved to bad habits--whether of overeating, overspending, over-committing, over-complaining, or whatever--then don't learn to say no. On the other hand, if we want to live in the freedom that Christ died to give us and to live for His glory, then we need to learn to say no to ourselves. No to our worldly impulses. No to those time-wasters that steal our moments. No to all that stuff that we know deep down we shouldn't be doing...so we'll have time for what we should be. No to habitual complaining and grumbling. No to excess and more, more, more.
Then we'll be free to say yes...yes to the people God's given us. Yes to the God we love. Yes to the Word of God. Yes to the work of God. Yes to thanking, savoring, and slowing down to taste, touch, smell, see, enjoy, laugh.
Thank You, Lord, for Your wise Word, for wise friends, for the work You've gifted to us...and for each of the days You are giving us to do all that You've called us to do.
There is always enough time to do the will of God, by His grace and for His glory. But we need to learn to say no to the good in order to say yes to the best. God's best. And God is always and forever the best of the best.
Oh might we walk wisely and well with Him for however many days He gives us.
To God be the glory.
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