[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Time is limited.

Your time is limited.

And though we’re reminded of time’s limits from time to time, we rarely stop to reflect on the reality that our lives have a span – that they have a beginning, a middle, and yes…an end.

Our time is limited. And this reality makes us uncomfortable.

This fact that we can’t change troubles us to the core.

Because our desires are unlimited, and our dreams are many. What we’d like to do and like to see and like to experience expands by the day – but our time is limited.

This is why the philosophers say that time measures priority.

Because our desires are many, and because our time is limited, the way we fill our weeks and months indicates what we value most. So, pause with me for one moment, and consider your past year: How did you spend your time?

Did you spend it well? Or spend it poorly? Did you use it wisely? Or waste it away?

If the way you spent your time last year set the pattern for how you’ll spend your time next year, would you be pleased with where that pattern took you in five years? Or ten?

Time is limited. And it’s ticking away. Are you investing what little time you have? Or are you squandering it? Are you making the most of your days, or are your days slipping away carelessly?

Time is limited.

The fearful avoid this reality. And the prideful deny this reality. But those who are wise, those who have ears to hear, those who embrace the fact that our lives have a God-given span; they live differently. They think differently. And they pray differently.

In Psalm 90, Moses pours out his heart to God. He says, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God… A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night… Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures. Yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass and we fly away.” (NIV)

Moses declares, “Our time is limited.” But then, he makes a request. Then, he asks God for help. Moses does what we so often neglect to do. Moses prays, “Teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Moses recognizes that a right recognition of the finitude of time helps thoughtful people make wise choices.

So as we begin a new year, we’ve got to ask ourselves: Am I thinking about my time?

Am I spending my time in ways that honor God and serve my neighbor?

Those who are wise recognize that time is precious and that time indicates priorities. So they say, “I’m going to use my time for what matters. I’m going to leverage my time as best as I can. I’m going to invest my time instead of wasting my time – because what little I have is ticking away.”

This week, will you take time to connect with the Author of Time to consider your time? Will you look at your calendar in light of Psalm 90, and give consideration to what should be added and what should be removed?

Our prayer is that this year we might grow in our ability to steward our time.

Will you join us in that journey?

Photo by Heather Zabriskie on Unsplash[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]