I awoke in the middle of the night, crushed by the reality of the fact time is running out. I am fifty years old now. My life is, in all probability, more than half over and time is running out. Time to tell others about Jesus. Time to do all Christ has given me to do. Time for me to further the mission of God. For all of it, time is running out and I am squandering it moment by moment, breath by breath.
How did I get here? I remember the zeal of a man whose sole focus was to reflect and glorify His Creator. Where is He now? Time is running out, and I desperately need to find him.
Somewhere along the way, I let life get too complicated. I’ll bet you have too. As we grew older, our priorities shifted from “How can I best serve God?” to “How can I earn enough money to take care of the needs of myself and my family… and to pay for all the stuff I want as well?” We’ve let the deceiver convince us there is more to life than Jesus. It’s not true, and it’s got us spiraling out of control. We’re rudderless and wasting our lives. Time is running out for us to rediscover the truth.
The driving focus of my life has not always been to serve Christ. It has ebbed and flowed, but once it took hold, there was never going to be a valid excuse for living for any other purpose. There is never going to be an acceptable reason for wasting the time given to us in order to accomplish His mission. I’ve seen too much to turn away. I know too much to allow anything to take precedence over Jesus. So, what am I doing?
Time is running out for each of us. Whether you are fifteen or fifty, eight or eighty, time is running out. Time will catch us all. For some, it will be after a full life of many years. For others, it will be unexpectedly short. What we do have is right now. We have this moment. Are we maximizing it to the glory of God?
What is it you are pursuing? Will it matter when your life is over? Are you capturing each breath and using it for the purposes for which you were created? We spend our time on so many trivial pursuits, convinced of their importance by Satan and the culture he has influenced for thousands of years. We are smarter than this. God deserves more than this. He gave all of Himself for us, we must respond in kind. Every day, every hour, every minute, every breath. Use them all to further Christ’s mission. Do it while you can. Time is running out.
Father help me not squander the remaining time I have. Help me not lose awareness that each breath is a gift given to be used for your glory.