Again, here we are – it is the end of the year and the beginning of another, and WOW has the last 365 days passed by like a morning mist…. I have been noticing the busyness of life and have mentioned it before, it seems as the very hours of each day are being cut short. Have you found that it seems like there are not enough minutes in the moments? Have you felt the sense of time running down by speeding up? Have you been sensing the seconds ticking by at a slipping pace? I am convinced and convicted it is time to assess the time and our own lifetime before our time fades away and eternity dawns. Here are a few passages of Scripture that come to mind to assist us in being circumspect regarding our days, our time, and the expedient fleeting nature thereof:

Genesis 6:3  Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”

 Psalm 90:10-12  The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

 First – the Bible tells us that God limits our days and life spans. Give or take some years, we don’t have all the time in the world – we have a terminal condition that God has ordained for each one of us. Now, as recorded in Genesis, God saw the evils of mankind due to sin and the fall, he literally gave Noah 120 years to get the ark ready before the flood; yet, God also limited man to only living individually about 120 years after the flood. And if you check the genealogical records found in the Bible, one finds that the years decreased incrementally as the generations went by until it even fell below the 120-year mark. This means each of us, you and I have a very short time on earth. I find it important to keep this in mind as we age so we do not make the mistake of thinking we still have tomorrow or that we somehow will never die.

Ecclesiastes 7:15-17  In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time?

 Second – how we live impacts the allotted time God has given each of us. And, depending on what we do, on our attitudes, on our worldview, and on our perspective on life. In the above passage, the idea of moderation is apparent. That extremes of evil and trying to be righteous on our own will wear us out and shorten our lives. Wickedness kills us early and trying to be perfectly self-righteous destroys us. Jesus is the only righteousness we can gain through grace, and He said His yoke is light…. We make ourselves heavy laden when we try to do it right on our own. And wickedness – well, it comes natural and we need delivered from it or we will wear ourselves out early and die young.

  Third – it is prophetic that time seems to be going so fast. It is not just to speed things along, but God does it to help His people. No flesh and nor human would be saved otherwise it says. Time is to go quicker and quicker and days shorter and shorter for our sake.

 Romans 13:11  Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

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

Fourth –  We each are called to think about time and to walk with its nature in mind. Clocks tick away not tick in addition. We are called to make the most of each opportunity…. The days we live in are evil, ill and sin sick. Each minute and second is another chance to know Christ better and share Christ more, each day is another day to serve God and others and grow in wisdom with our walk with Jesus at the center… are you circumspect about time and opportunity?

James 4:14  yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Fifth and finally – at least for the time being…. Each of our lives is but a fleeting vapor that dissipates as soon as it appears. Oh, sure some live in a fog and others bring the haze, but you and I dissolve more and more each day. Or at least we should in the warmth and heat of the Son of God. As he dawns in the heart and enlightens the mind – He should increase, and we should decrease. I often think about this verse in these contexts but also in the reality that one day we will be gone. Sooner rather than later, and what will we leave behind? A good and godly memory or will we vanish with the time that others have remaining….

Either way, take time seriously – if not, time will seriously take you.

Counting the Days Until Jesus’ Return,