We Don’t Have Time to Waste

 

Everyday should be a celebration of God! What’s He’s done for us through His Son, Jesus Christ, is more than any intelligent being can fathom. He has lavished every spiritual blessing on us in Christ, and He made His mind up about us as His chosen people even before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:5-6(NIV) says, “he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”

God has given us everything through His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and it will take us an eternity to enjoy it all. This is part of what 1Corinthians 2:9(NLT) means when it tells us, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared
for those who love him.” In His Word, our Heavenly Father tells us the wonderful things He’s planned for us because He wants us to know. It’s not revealed in human philosophy or the musings of those who think themselves super intellectual. The profound riches of God’s blessings are revealed to us through His precious Holy Spirit.

1Corinthians 2:10 tells us that the Holy Spirit explores the innermost thoughts of God. The human-spirit of a person knows him or her intimately, through and through, even to the point of knowing things we would never say out loud. Well, the Holy Spirit knows the thoughts of our Heavenly Father, and the Holy Spirit shares God’s thoughts with us. The way God designed this to work is that His blessings unfold as we acquire and digest more knowledge about Him through Jesus Christ. We know that Ephesians 1:3 tells us that God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings because of Christ, but at this very moment, are all believers operating at the same level of spiritual maturity as Jesus Christ?

The answer to this question is ‘no’. We’ve been given a full accompaniment of spiritual treasures, but most of us are not walking in them. We’re not manifesting the fullness of what we’ve been given. As a matter of fact, most believers are only operating at a very small fraction of the power and authority of Christ they’ve been given—we’re not even manifesting a fingernail’s worth.

2Peter 3:9(NLT) says, “The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” This verse shows us God’s tremendous mercy, His amazing grace, and His enduring patience with us. Humanity could be so far in advance of where we are right now, but we have not put on the love of Christ in our hearts the way we should have. God’s love has not changed, and His Word has not changed. He patiently waits as we come to a point in our lives where we realize that more knowledge about Jesus Christ will open the door to more of the abundant life that he made available.

It’s very easy to think that this earth experience is it, and that we’d better milk it for all we can get, but this world is not our home. Our reason for being here is to carry forth God’s purpose. If we miss this, we miss the whole ball of wax. Without God’s purpose, life falls apart, and all we need to do is look around at the condition of the world in order to see this.

Jesus Christ is our example, and we are commanded to walk in him every day of our lives. We are to do what he did when he walked upon the earth. In Matthew 4, when he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, he didn’t get into his feelings and give the devil some speech about being hungry and tired. He didn’t complain to God about how challenging it was to be offered the kingdoms of the world and not give in. With every temptation, Jesus Christ responded, “IT IS WRITTEN…” He knew that God is faithful to His Word, and that the Word of God is the bread of life; it’s the Spirit’s sword and nothing can stand against it, for God’s Word always prevails. It is incorruptible and endures forever.

Galatians 5:25(NKJV) tells us, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” The good things God has planned for us cannot be lived-out in the flesh. They can’t be achieved by leaning on our emotions and attitudes, or by leaning on our thoughts about our own personal agendas. We must let the Spirit lead, guide, and direct us. We live through him! We don’t have any power to call our own. We can only do all things through Jesus Christ. He gives us the strength to make it from day to day.

The Spirit unveils the heart of God to us. As we study God’s Word, the Spirit teaches us and helps us comprehend the depth, width, and breadth of God’s love. He reveals what God has always had in mind for us. The world teaches us to follow wherever our heart leads or to do what feels natural to us. No. We’re called by God to do His Word, and to be obedient to His Spirit so we can have a life that is pleasing to Heavenly Father and meaningful and fulfilling to us as well.

1Corinthians 2:14(NLT) tells us, “But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” This earth experience is a tremendous gift from God. It was given so that we could live through the Lord Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit teaches and helps us understand more about God through our Master Jesus. As His called-out people, we are being prepared in this life for all the good things He has planned for us now and in the future. We don’t have time to waste. Let’s stop allowing the world to steal our focus away from God and stop buying into all its negativity. Heavenly Father has a wonderful plan for our individual lives, and we need to spend all our time growing in Christ so we that we live the vision He holds for us all.■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“We Don’t Have Time to Waste”, written for Christian Encouragement and Inspiration© 2021. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.