WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
JUNE 25, 2021
TOPIC: YOU DON’T HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD
BY T. O. BANSO
“But this I say, brethren, the time is short (1 Corinthians 7:29a New King James Version).
It amazes me how many people live their lives as if they have all the time in the world to do whatever they want to do. Imagine youths wasting their lives on meaningless frivolities, worthless amusement, and sinful indulgences. They’re deceived by Satan’s lie instead of sitting down to discover and pursue God’s purpose for their lives.
Nobody can be a youth forever. The question later will be: What did you do with your youth? Unfortunately, there are some older people, too, who also live their lives like this They are old and have the benefit of learning from their past mistakes but, unfortunately, they’ve continued to live as if they have all the time in the world to live and turn over a new leave (if at all), some other time in the future.
You have only twenty-four hours in a day and a limited number of years to live on earth. You don’t have time for everything. Therefore, you must discover your life’s purpose, be clear about your vision, get your priorities right, set your goals, and determine and execute the strategies to achieve them. Nobody gets younger!
You don’t have enough time to dabble into everything. Whether you use your time well or not, the clock is ticking, and very soon you’ll say how time flies! You have to do the right things now for time waits for nobody. You don’t have all the time in the world.
Look at the children born just some years back. Don’t you see these babies of ‘yesterday’ now becoming mothers and fathers and their parents becoming grandmas and grandpas? Yet, somebody is living his life as if he has all the time in the world.
You can’t afford to waste your time on irrelevant things. Very soon, there are things you’re doing now that you won’t have the strength for again. A time will come when you’ll wish to do certain things but you won’t be able to do them. At that time, you’ll either regret it or feel fulfilled. The memory of the right things you did in the past will refresh and comfort you when you can’t do them again. But some people who wasted their time in the past and squandered their opportunities would be full of regrets.
I recall the story of a young man who secured admission to a university abroad and his parents kept sending money to pay his fees and take care of other expenses. But after resumption in the university, he came under a wrong influence and didn’t face his studies. The father, a busy businessman, thought his son was in the university, making progress, not knowing that he had dropped out.
This young man wasted all the money his father had been sending to him in reckless living like the prodigal son in the Bible. Unfortunately, he wasn’t as fortunate as the prodigal son. After his father discovered he had abandoned his academic programme, it strained the relationship between them.
Not long after then, the young man received a message from home that his father had passed. There was nobody to send money to him abroad again! This forced him to return home without achieving anything. He had wasted his opportunity. He thought he had all the time. He never knew his father would die as soon as he did.
What opportunities are you wasting? Is it the opportunity to give your life to Jesus, get married, acquire a skill, reconcile with certain persons, answer the call of God upon your life, or start a business? Don’t deceive yourself; you don’t always have the time. Do what you have to do now before it is too late.
There are things that are better done when you are young or before you become old. Ecclesiastes 12:1 warns that the difficult days are coming. This is when you grow old and no longer enjoy living; the light of the sun and moon and stars is dim to your old eyes, and there is no silver lining left among the clouds.
Ecclesiastes 12:3-5 says, “Your limbs will tremble with age, and your strong legs will grow weak; your teeth will be too few to do their work, and you will be blind, too. And when your teeth are gone, keep your lips tightly closed when you eat! Even the chirping of birds will wake you up. But you yourself will be deaf and tuneless, with a quavering voice. You will be afraid of heights and of falling, white-haired and withered, dragging along without any sexual desire. You will be standing at death’s door. And as you near your everlasting home, the mourners will walk along the streets” (New Living Translation).
You don’t have all the time in the world to train your children (Proverbs 22:6). Do it now, so that you don’t cry tomorrow. Some people waited too late before they did the right thing. They lost their children to drugs; some were imprisoned. Others, unfortunately, lost their lives. Do the right thing now when there is still time A time will come when there will be no time!
You don’t have all the time in the world to reconcile with your spouse – end those childish quarrels now and grow up! How long are you going to keep fighting? What have you gained all the years of fighting? Can’t you see it is affecting your health, children, and other family members?
You don’t have all the time in the world to put your house in order i-e organize your life, work, or other business properly. Do what you’ve got to do now before it’s too late. “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:15-17 New Living Translation). Time and tide wait for no man. You don’t have all the time in the world.
Friend, you don’t have all the time in the world to repent of your sins and obey God. A time will come when there will be no time! Now is the day of salvation – not later (2 Corinthians 6:2). You don’t have all the time to be born again or answer the call of God upon your life.
Paul said the time we have remaining is short and we must make the best use of it. “Brothers and sisters, this is what I mean: We do not have much time left. So starting now, those who have wives should live as if they had no wives. Those who are crying should live as if they were not crying. Those who are happy should live as if they were not happy. Those who buy things should live as if they own nothing. Those who use the things of the world should live as if they were not using them, because this world in its present form will soon be gone” (1 Corinthians 7:29-31 New Century Version).
The New King James Version renders 1 Corinthians 7:29a thus: “But this I say, brethren, the time is short” (New King James Version). Take note of this. You don’t have all the time in the world to prepare for eternity with Jesus. Take advantage of the time you have now.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, I don’t want my future to be full of regrets; help me to do the right thing at the time. Holy Spirit, guide me to make the right decisions and utilize my God-given opportunities. I come against relationships that will lead me astray in life and receive the right persons into my life.
(For over 600 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
