In the spiritual
realm, the time frame is of critical importance. If
we allow time to slip away, immense loss will result. When
one is young, one might have grandiose ideas of doing
great spiritual exploits at a future day. Before
long, years pass and decades fade and life is frittered away. Then
the bitter cry of regret is expressed, "The harvest
is past, the summer is ended and we are not saved." (Jer. 8:10)
The Lord Jesus said, "I must
work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day. The night
cometh when no man can work." (John 9:4) On another occasion He
said, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in
the night, he stumbleth not because there is no light
in him." (John 11:9) The analogy is that just as the
daylight hours are limited before darkness falls, so the window of
opportunity is narrow beyond which nothing can be
accomplished. How can we seize God-given opportunities? How can we
strike the iron while it is hot? How can we avoid eternal
regret?
Warning: What causes us to miss the course God
has charted for our lives? It is preoccupation with many
things of life which by themselves may not necessarily be
evil. The apostle Paul warns, "But this I say brethren, the time
is short. It remaineth that both they that have wives be as though
they had none. And they that weep, as though they wept not and
they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not and they that buy
as though they possessed not and they that use this world as not
abusing it, for the fashion of this world passeth away." (1 Cor.
7:29-31)
Married life: Apart from the many blessings that God grants to a godly
couple, married life inevitably brings stresses and strains. There
are multiple responsibilities and pressures. If we are not
cautious they will overwhelm us and keep us from the things
of God. We can easily fall short of what God has intended for
us to do for Him. Let us be on guard.
Sorrows: Excessive sorrow poses the danger
of robbing us of spiritual fruitfulness. The Lord
Himself was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isaiah
53:3) and yet He was not paralyzed by it. Bring your sorrows
to the Lord and hear Him say, "Weep not." Let Him wipe your
tears away. Rise from the bed of tears and go on to serve Him. Do
not let sorrow disable you.
Rejoicing: Ironically our rejoicing can render us
spiritually ineffective. Are there great blessings to
rejoice about? Let us offer thanks to God and move on.
Let not the blessing become an idol taking our focus away
from the Source of the blessing. Let not the Gift become an
obsession making us forget the Giver. The disciples at
the Lord's instruction caught a huge haul of fish but they forsook
all of it and followed Him. (Luke 5:11) It is tragic if our
rejoicing will block our spiritual
usefulness.
Prosperity: Beware
of prosperity. We are told that if we buy we should be as if we
did not possess it. Did you buy a car or a house or some special
item? Act as if you do not possess it or it may possess
you! (Luke 14:18,19) Remember, "the love of money is the root
of all evil." (1 Tim. 6:10) Let not material blessings render us
spiritually barren.
The world: We are told that while using the world in
general, we should take care not to be engrossed in it. At every
turn, there are pitfalls posing a serious risk of making us
spiritually unfruitful. We can easily get distracted by weights
and sin in our spiritual race. (Heb. 12
:1)
We are urged to heed the warning signals along
life's journey and seize every opportunity to serve our Lord.
(Gal. 6:10) Let us loosen the grip on the things of this
world. Let us never forget that we are engaged in a spiritual
warfare. We are told, "No man that warreth entangleth himself with
the affairs of this life." (2 Tim. 2:4) The time is short. The
window of opportunity is narrow. We may well be at the eleventh
hour. With His help, let us make the best of whatever time we
have left.
