Don’t waste Time

How is your faith today friend?

Is it humming right along with the upbeat Christian song playing on your radio? Or is it sitting in the middle of the wilderness….wallowing in despair?

Does it take a dive and slowly climbs back up to the peaks and then falls again, like a roller coaster ride?

Oh how important our faith meter is in this life.

Faith is the courage to our convictions.

Faith is the assurance to God’s promises.

Faith is the confidence of you future.

But if your faith is broken….your future is broken.

Today we finish up with our final sign in the blog series…”Four Signs You Are Living A Life That Matters.”

And so our fourth and final sign is….

You are walking by Faith.

Now you may say…Oh Mel…I am walking in faith. I believe Jesus came to die for me…and HE rose again.

Well great…you hit the salvation absolute on the head!

But is it possible that we can believe in GOD; yet we don’t believe that HE can do specific things in our lives?

A verse in Ephesians eludes to exactly what GOD can do for us….

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us.” Ephesians 3:20

Simply put….GOD is telling us…..”Hey child….I can do more than you ask or think of. And not only a little….but exceeding abundantly…beyond your imagination!”

Why do we believe JESUS came back from the dead; yet, we struggle with believing HE can do big things for us?

Coming back from the dead would logically seem the harder thing to believe…wouldn’t you say?

That’s kind of contradictory isn’t it?

I must admit…I haven’t always hung my hat on total faith in GOD.

But HE started taking me to places that only HE could lead me through…and little by little I started learning that….HE’S the only one I can depend on.

And depend on HIM I do….for hope, for joy, for provision, for guidance…and healing. And through my roller coaster ride… something glorious started happening between me and GOD….…I started loving him….and loving him more…and then a little more….and more….and more….now HE is everything to me.

And the more HE shows me, the more I love HIM.

The more HE does for me, the more I depend on HIM.

The more I obey HIM, the more HE blesses me.

And through this gradual metamorphosis of my soul….I’ve learned to listen for those directives that lead to my calling. That calling that has word nerd written all over my DNA and satisfies my soul.

I see it clearly now.

So I step out and walk in faith toward the calling HE is working out as I love on people with words.

I don’t seek fame or fortune…I am compelled to share hope….I can’t not write about how good and faithful HE is.

So what about you?

What does walking in faith look like for you?

Is HE waiting for your total surrender to trust HIM in the murky places of life?

Is HE longing for you to love HIM more than anything in existence?

Is HE telling you to go to the mission field? Adopt a child? Or just wait on HIM to divinely cradle life in your womb?

Is HE leading you to directives that involve finishing your education to prepare for the next level?

Does He want you to change careers and work for purpose….. instead of money?

Sell everything you own and start a ministry?

Is HE calling you to forgive? Let go? Trust HIM to vindicate you?

It takes great faith to do any of the above….and it may require a great sacrifice; but in the end….when your life is said and done…..what will really matter?

Will it be your bank account, the car you drove or the house you lived in?

Will it matter that you traveled the world or saw the Eiffel Tower?

Will it matter you lived for selfish pleasure or for others?

What will be of value if you don’t live the life GOD is calling you in faith to step out to?

Will it matter in eternity?

Walking in faith is the key to living in the present…. living with purpose….. And living with a sense of urgency. You’ve got to have faith to do all three!

I want my life to count for something. I don’t want to face JESUS one day and realize HE had so much more for me…….if only I had stepped out in faith…..lived with urgency….lived in the present….and with purpose.

I challenge you to sit down and take an inventory of your life. How is your faith meter really?

Do you believe HE can do big things in your life? If yes…why are you not walking in faith toward those things?

Do you worry about what others will think of you? Well quit worrying because that thought is of the Devil.

What will your life reflect after you are long gone friend? Bold faith? Purpose? Wisdom? Faithfulness?

Don’t run out of time friend……

As long as you are breathing….you can start living a life that matters…today.

So what are you waiting for?

Close your eyes and imagine you are on a game show called “The Time Of Your Life”.

The premise is you have certain chores, activities, events and accomplishments to choose from as sand trickles down through a giant hour-glass to the left of the stage.

As you pick up the numerous cards labeled with life events and run to place them in the designated slots…..the sand escapes faster by the second. With each trip across stage…you have to choose which life event to pick up because you can only take 2 at a time.

As the sand escapes grain by grain…you barely get your last two cards placed. Your breathless as the game show host takes inventory of your life. Your eyes dart back to the tower holding all those cards you didn’t get to.

That trip you wanted to take….. didn’t make the cut. The graduations of your grandchildren….didn’t make the cut. That degree or dream that seemed elusive…..didn’t make the cut either… all because you chose something else in its place.

Reality sets in….You ran out of time.

A deep sense of sadness captures your emotions.

There are things left….undone. Dreams unmet…you feel as though your life was not truly satisfied.

Today we are in our third day of “Four Signs You Are Living A Life That Really Matters.”

So let’s dig into point number three……

You live life with a sense of urgency.

My husband says…….

“Life is like a roll of toilet paper….the closer it gets to the end…the faster it goes.”

There may be a little Forrest Gump echoing in this sentiment but its truth.

The Psalms tell us…..

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

The Hebrew meaning of “teach” is….to perceive, to discern, or to be aware of.

Living with a sense of urgency means you are wise enough to perceive….your time here on earth is limited, so make healthy and wise choices.

Living with urgency means you discern that GOD has a specific calling for you to fulfill.

Living with a sense of urgency means you are setting and reaching goals.

Living with urgency means you are praying fervently just because you can and should.

So what are you putting off?

What or who are you taking for granted?

What is that deep desire that you keep tucking away under your heart?

What is that “thing” God is telling you to be brave about?

Urgency is a must in a Christian’s life. We have but just a small window of time….what we do with that time matters greatly in regards to eternity.

What you do with your time will determine a life fulfilled or left undone.

Will you be ashamed of what you did with your time when you come face to face with JESUS one day?

Will HE find you faithful? Obedient?

Will you have any rewards to lay at HIS feet?

I challenge you to spend some time taking inventory of your life…and what you’ve done with it.

What is still left for you to do?

What has GOD been speaking to you about?

What activities in your daily 24 hour span…really have value and matter?

Be aware my friend…be aware of every minute in your day….and seek to eliminate the clutter. Will that hour long television show or extra round of golf…. really matter when you walk into heaven one day?

Living with a sense of urgency….means you don’t waste the time GOD gives you.

And don’t miss this beloved…..living with a sense of urgency means you don’t omit the precious moments in life that will never pass your way again…..like the skinned knees, the glorious sunset shared with a friend, the wet, little kisses of little ones, the last dance at the wedding, the smile for a stranger, the wagging tail that greets you with joy….or that precious time in early morn when the FATHER is waiting for you to start your day in HIS presence.

Living with urgency means you value the air in your lungs and realize one day it will be gone; therefore, you don’t leave the precious and eternal things….undone.

Tell me friend….are you making the most of your time here on earth?

See you tomorrow for our final sign!