What Are You Doing With Today?

     Proverbs 27:1 - Boast not thyself of tomorrow;

 for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. 

The only preparation for the morrow is the right use of today. The stone in the hands of the builder must be put in its place and fitted to receive another. The morrow comes for naught, if today is not heeded. Neglect not the call that comes to thee this day, for such neglect is nothing else than boasting thyself of tomorrow. — G. Bowen.

What are you doing with today? With the next 24 hours God has given you? We never know if the next breath will be our last. I’m not saying this to depress you. No, I’m wanting to try and encourage you to think about how you use the time God has graciously and mercifully given to you. Each time you inhale and exhale and live to breathe again, is a blessing and a gift from God.

And each day, filled with numerous opportunities to show God’s love and be a testimony to a lost world, is a gift from God.

James 4:14 - Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Time is short. Life is short. And today is important. What you choose to fill your day with today impacts what happens the next day, and the next and the next.

We are reminded in scripture that our days are numbered and our life is like a vapour. What we do with our time is so important.

I recently wrote a post on making more time for God. And in my devotions this week, I came across the quote at the beginning of this article.

” The only preparation for the morrow is the right use of today……….”  

The only way we can prepare for the future and the days ahead, is by using today wisely. Which is why I say, what you choose to do or not to do today, will have a direct impact on what lies ahead. One day at a time. Making each and every moment count.

If I choose to fill my day with scrolling the internet, watching endless hours of Netflix, drinking coffee and only doing enough work to pay the bills, then the next day, or days, I’m going to have to play catch up.

Now, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t take a ‘chill’ day now and then. A day where we slow down the pace a little, take some time off, catch up with friends, do some online scrolling or whatever it is that you do to relax. No. I’m just saying that we should be mindful of the time we are spending on different activities and take care that we don’t prioritize the comfortable over the important.

We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, and I know that for me, I don’t want to live with regrets. I don’t want to regret not using my time better. I don’t want to get to the end of my days, wishing I could have a ‘do-over’ so I could spend more time on the important things. I want to make sure I fill my days with what God would have me do.

Priorities. Why does it always come down to priorities? It really does matter how we fill our days. It really does matter that I get God’s wisdom in organizing my days, letting Him arrange my days and prioritize my never-ending lists.

It might not seem that important, but a life is not that long, and if we are wives, mothers, grandmothers for those younger and less experienced than us, then spending our time wisely is all the more important. We have people counting on us, relying on us, looking up to us. They are watching how we spend our days. They are watching the example we are setting.

When we fill our precious days with things of eternal value, it's like a bank up in Heaven receiving a deposit. Gaining interest. Laying up treasures in Heaven. But every day we take for granted and every day we don’t give a thought to how we use it, is a day wasted. An opportunity wasted.

I recently installed a time tracker app on my phone to help me see where I was spending my time, and what a great revealer of truth it is! It has helped me see how much time I was wasting and where my priorities lay.

But, it’s also been an encouragement as I see my study time and reading time grow with the passing days. I find that when I am actually recording the time I spend doing various activities, I spend less on the frivolous and more on the important.

So, do whatever it takes to become more watchful over your time. Whether it’s an app or a list or a timer, guard your time and work on making more eternal deposits into the bank of Heaven by what you do with your days.

Colossians 4:5  - Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

Ephesians 5:15-16  - See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Psalm 90:12  - So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its days I must fulfill,
living for self or in His will
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.