Choosing The Meaningful Over The UrgentSample

The Eternal Value of Your Finite Time

Our time is a finite resource. Once it’s gone, we cannot reclaim it. We must recognize the preciousness of the gift of time we have been given because if our perspective is skewed about the true value of our time, we won’t see the urgency of making a change.

An overloaded lifestyle, squeezing it all in, overwhelms our time and pushes out the meaningful that we naturally crave. And some decisions we make don’t come with second chances. Who knows what tomorrow holds? We don’t know how much stress will be too much stress on our bodies before we get that diagnosis. We don’t know what the breaking point is in that relationship before the other person starts pulling away because they are tired of being so low on our priority list. Frankly, sometimes we don’t know just how much the pace and load of life are stripping away the very essence of who we are—causing us to be irritable and demanding, stealing our creativity and joy, and making life more about doing than being.

So what happens when time slips out of our hands? When there is a real ticking clock that will eventually run out? Thinking in very stark terms about what it means to lose time can help us value it more deeply and ultimately make future decisions more intentionally. It often means crying until we have no tears left and choosing to trust that God still has a plan for our lives that is aligned with the desires he divinely placed in our hearts. As Joel 2:25 says, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.” By turning to God and choosing hope, we can take actions that reflect a positive vision of a future guided by God’s hand, even through lost time and unexpected turns in our lives. 

Jeremiah 29:11–14 tells us that God has good plans for our future. When we seek him, pray, and listen to him, we will meet God and know we have hope for the future. Thistime with God is an opportunity to begin again, to dream a new dream, and to emerge from any challenge wiser, stronger, and determined to make the most of the time we still have. To choose is to create—a memory, a situation, a relationship, a path forward, or a path backward. Whether we choose well or choose poorly, our choices largely create our future. Spent in meaningful ways, our time can build a life we are excited to live, heal and build relationships, and create a positive legacy that can multiply our impact for eternity.

Your life can touch individual people in ways that you may never know—in positive ways if you choose to spend your time making choices that are meaningful. Life is not about how much you can pack into your days but about the impact you can make with your days—especially when that impact touches people. Time is finite, but your legacy is eternal. Choose wisely.

Respond

What value do you place on your time? What makes your time precious?

How does your relationship with God impact how you spend your time? What impact do you want your time to have in the lives of others? 

What choices do you think God wants you to make with your time so that you can experience the hope and future he has planned for you? How is prayer, conversations with God, part of this experience?