The Abundant Life: Riches money can’t buy…
The abundant life knows that time is a gift!
Today starts Daylight Saving Time. We move our clocks forward so we can have more hours of daylight. You wouldn’t think that one hour this way or that would be such a volatile issue, but people have very definite opinions about whether it’s a good thing or bad. Arizona and Hawaii don’t observe the time change, but the rest of us have to adapt. All in all, most people like having a little more sunshine time during the day.
Did you know that time is a gift from God—but a limited one? We don’t know how much time we have to live. (James 4:14, Psalm 39:4-5) Therefore, time is a valuable commodity. (Psalm 90:12) So we are admonished to make the most of it. (Colossians 4:5, Ephesians 5:15-17)
God has also appointed a time for everything in our lives. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, “To everything there is a season. And a time for every purpose under heaven.” Just like God put the sun and moon in the heavens to mark seasons. (Genesis 8:23, Psalm 104:19) He has given us various seasons or times in our lives. (Ecclesiastes 3:2-8) There’s a time to be born and a time to die. There is a time to plant and a time to reap…and so on.
God understands the experiences, emotions, and transitions we encounter during our time here on earth and in His wisdom, He gives us time to process them. Life is a balancing act. We won’t always be happy. We won’t always be sad. It’s okay to jump for joy and it’s okay to mourn. We have beginnings and endings. We have highs and lows. God is with us through it all and has reasons for the events in our lives.
God is not tied to man’s idea of time. It doesn’t matter what time zone we’re in or if it’s Daylight Saving Time. Our time is in God’s hands. (Psalm 31:16) So whatever time we have should be used intentionally. For some, this might be getting an extra hour of sleep. For others, it might be rising an hour early. Both could be considered wise use of time depending on one’s circumstances.
Those living the abundant life do not take time for granted. They appreciate and savor the gift of time.
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“…I have come that they may have life and that they
may have it more abundantly.” ~John 10:10 (KJV)
