The Psalmist was praying: "Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom" (Psalm 90:12).

What do you do with your time? Have you ever stopped to think about how much time you waste doing "nothing"?

Imagine there is a bank that puts in your account $86,400 every morning. If you don't spend it all by that night, the bank will take it away from you. What would you do? You would spend every single penny of that $86,400. Every one of us has a bank account like that, it's called "time." Every morning we are given 86,400 seconds. Every night the balance that we did not spend or invest wisely is written off as a loss. There is no going back, and you can't borrow against tomorrow. Each of us has to live on today's deposit. Most important is that we invest it to get the most out of health, life, service, and ministry.

Since we are at the beginning of a new year, wouldn't it be wise for us to take account of how we spend our time?

Are we using our time so that we might ultimately "grow in wisdom?"

Are we using our time to do service to the Kingdom of God?

Are we using our time to grow in faith, to increase our knowledge of Him, and to minister God's grace to all we come in contact with each day?

Do we take the time to dedicate each day totally to Him for His use?

Today is the day to examine our lifestyles and our motives. Are we wisely using the gift of "time" that God has given us, or are we wasting it looking for pleasure that will only last for a moment? If we find that we're falling short in wise investments, now is the time to make a quality decision to change, and with God's help, your time will become a precious gift you can present to the Lord as part of your "reasonable service" to Him.

Father, when I look at my days, I find that there is so much time wasted doing things that have no real meaning, that produce no ministry, that are just discarded. Forgive me for wasting such a precious gift as "time." Lord, help me to redeem my wasted time by showing me ways to use my time more wisely, to be a productive Christian, to exhibit a servant's heart in all I do. Lord, I long to live a life pleasing to You—in all I say, in all I do, in every aspect of my life. Thank you, Lord, for showing me how important time is to You, amen.

© Jan Ross
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