April 22nd

Never Saw It Coming

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, I have no pleasure in them.' Ecclesiastes 12:1

Oh, I'll do that later. Have you ever said that? I know I have. The sobering thing, though, is that you and I might have less time to do things later than we think.

None of us know when our end is coming. I remember one particular Sunday morning when one of the high schoolers in our community died rolling his car. Our pastors went out to comfort his family, none of them expecting the end to come so soon.

Have you ever had an experience like that? Maybe it wasn't to that extreme of a degree, but all of us have been taken by surprise at some point in our lives. And the last thing we want when we get to the end of our lives is to say, Man, I never saw that coming. I wasn't ready.

You see, it's one thing to be caught by surprise. It's another thing completely to be caught by surprise and not be ready for it. A lot of people were surprised by the economic downturn, but some people had planned ahead well enough, diversifying their investments, having saved up little by little over the years, acting wisely enough ahead of time that they weren't hurt too badly by it. Others who were caught unawares by it have suffered greatly.

The unavoidable truth is that life doesn't last forever. Even the things we enjoy in lifehearing, eyesight, desire for our spouses, teeth, the strength of our bodies-these things fade as we age. And the question that all of us need to answer is, what are we doing with what we have now.

What are you doing with what you have now? Are you holding onto it, hoping for a better day? Are you using what you have for the Lord so that when what you have in this life disappears, you still have a reward waiting for you in Heaven? Or are you wasting what you have now on worldly pursuits, on what sounds good to you today? Are you spending all your resources for your own pleasure while you can, leaving yourself eternally bankrupt?

We need to live today with eternity and the rest of our lives in view. Nothing we have will last forever, but what we can gain by using what we have now for the Lord will last forever.

None of us know what's coming tomorrow, so choose to serve the Lord today.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for reminding me that, while I can try to make plans, I really never know what tomorrow will bring. I give my life and all that I have to You today. Guide me in this life and help me to use what I have for Your glory!

Amen