Many of us tend to live life on autopilot. We stumble along, from one day to the next. Not fully living, but existing. We react to things that come our way, instead of being proactive when possible. It’s like going through a car wash. We put the car in neutral and allow ourselves to be pushed and pulled along the path. Then one day we might wonder, “Is this all there is to life?”

And these days, with our devices, social media, and the like, we have an array of “opportunities” to sit idle and waste precious time. Too often we look around and see people with their noses in their phones, as they scroll with their thumb. And I wonder, what is the purpose? In our world, so much of people’s time and energy gets sucked into meaningless tasks. And then they wonder where their day went. Days turn into weeks and weeks into months. I think many will look back and regret that their lives were not spent wisely.

I love the words of Moses found in Psalm 90:12 NKJV, “So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

What a beautiful and gentle reminder to approach each day differently. When we wake up each morning, we can make a conscious decision to appreciate the 86,400 seconds we have been given that day. First thing in the morning when we wake up, we can thank God and remind ourselves, “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24 NKJV).

If we point our minds in the right direction first thing in the morning, that helps us to keep our hearts in the right place throughout the day.

And then as the day rolls on, we can intentionally focus our minds and hearts on the Lord and on the things we want to accomplish. Having goals and living each moment to the fullest can help us to have a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Then, in turn, we are better able to:

• Tackle the things that God put in our paths for that day
• Be diligent with pursuing our goals
• Spread the light of Jesus
• And ultimately live a life for the Lord

However, I will say that we should find balance as well. God does want us to enjoy life and seek rest. But I just feel in our current culture, there is a lot of lost time on senseless things.

Young people think they have so much time before them. But if the young people sit down and talk to a seasoned adult, the elder can tell them how quickly life goes by.

Every single moment we have a chance to start anew. We can live a meaningful and intentional life. We can lean into the Lord with every situation we face. We can spread His love to the world around us.

And then when we get to heaven, hopefully we will hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:14-30)

Thank you for reading!

© 2022 Bridget A. Thomas