I've posted about what to do while you're waiting and praying in the midst of the wait. Last night, I found myself tossing in my bed. Sometimes, God wakes me up with a word. This time, it was a reminder.
Time is a gift.
He whispered it real quiet-like. "When you receive a gift, you need to open it. Don't leave it sitting in a box on a shelf in your heart. Open it and use it."
How often do we hate the wait so much that we never do anything with it? How often do we sit and wait for what's next, instead of living in today?
There were ten virgins in Matthew 25. The Word says that five of them were wise and five were foolish. See, they were waiting for the bridegroom to arrive. Five of them had the sense to do something with their waiting time and gathered oil for their lamps. The five who were foolish didn't prepare. They came to the waiting place with no oil in their lamps. So when the time came for the groom to arrive, they weren't ready for Him. They begged the five wise ladies to spare some oil for them, but they knew how much they would need and could spare none. Five ladies met their bridegroom. Five did not. Because they weren't ready.
Time is a gift. We need to use it wisely. Tweet This
Rather than fretting over what's to come, we should be making preparations. We should be seeking the face of God in the now, not waiting to do so when He arrives and says, "It's time."
Why does God give us all of this time in waiting? Let's take a look at a few examples from the Word:
1. Time to Repent: "And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent" (Revelation 2:21). He gives us time to repent of our sins, so that we can be prepared for what's to come. I sometimes wonder if things I know my husband and I are called to do haven't come to pass yet, because we still need to get some things right in our own lives. Actually, I'm certain of it. We are in the midst of a season of repentance in preparation for what's to come. What do you need to repent of that could be holding you back from God's plan for you?
2. Time to Store Up: "Let them do good, that they may be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life" (1 Timothy 6:18-20). The ten virgins needed to store up their oil. They needed to have time to be filled with the Holy Spirit and do what God had called them to do. Five of them were wise and stored up their good foundation in Jesus. They took the time to know their Lord and Savior. Five of them did not. Jesus' response to them was, "I never knew you." God has a plan and purpose for everyone who loves Him. Before we can come into His will, we need to be prepared, so we don't cause another to fall when we fail. There's no worse feeling than seeing another person fail because you weren't prepared. Trust me, I know. By getting ready, we will have success in Jesus Christ in whatever He calls us to do.
3. Time to Redeem the Time: "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15-16). God allows us time to "buy up, to ransom, to rescue from loss, to improve opportunity." These are the definitions of "redeeming" in the Strong's Concordance. God wants to allow us time to improve our opportunity in these evil days. He wants us to become men and women of integrity who can share His love and His Word with those who don't know Him. He wants us to rescue time from loss. Be wise in the waiting. Don't fall asleep as the disciples did. Join Jesus in His will. Pray. Seek God's face. Do good works.
4. Time to Understand What the Lord Wills: "Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is" (Ephesians 5:17). The disciples didn't understand why Jesus became so frustrated with them in the Garden of Gethsemane. He told them to watch and pray. After He'd prayed for a time, He returned to find them sleeping. He tells them to watch and pray again, and this time He reveals the purpose of His will for them to do so. "...lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). When we refuse to take the time to pray and watch in the waiting, we open ourselves up to an attack from the enemy. We can say we love Jesus and wish to do His will, but our flesh tends to be weaker than our spirit. We succumb too easily to heavy eyelids and deaf ears and heavy hearts. Understand what God wills for you. Watch. Pray. And quit sleeping every time you go to church or open the Bible. "...the hour is at hand" (Matthew 26:45).
5. Time to Realize Life is Short: I am most guilty of this one. "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit'; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that'" (James 4:13-15). Not knowing where we will be sent next always leaves me wondering which city we'll be heading for and how long we'll be there. I spend a couple of hours a week, for about a month or two before the company tells us where we'll be going, looking at Google Maps and searching local schools and crime charts, trying to plan for what's to come--when I don't even know where we're going. Sad, right? I waste so much time, rather than taking care of today's cares. Life is short. We need to live in the here and the now, not the past (redeem that time) or the future (it could vanish tomorrow).
God's gift of time is precious. It's the oil in our lamps. It's the hour to tarry with Him. It's the opportunity to know Jesus and to prepare for God's opportunities in our lives. Don't waste it while you're waiting.
