Is Your Time Well Spent?
One of the things I miss most about Maryland is working out with my good friend, Aisha. As believers, we often discussed our favorite stories from the Bible. I remember, one day I confessed to her how little time I seemed to have to study the Word of God. She, a married, mother of three who worked full-time, totally understood. “In fact,” she explained, “I had this same conversation with my Mom some time ago.” As a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa, she kept in touch with her over the phone. Before every call ended, her Mother would habitually ask, “When did you last spent time with God?” Aisha went on to admit that there was always some reason for the lack of time.
After several months of hearing excuse after excuse, the older woman finally became fed up. She interrupted her daughter one day and said, “Let me tell you something, my friend!” Respectfully, Aisha immediately became silent. The wise mama informed her, “God forbid…should you die before me, my heart would be broken.” She continued, “We would bring your body home to Africa. As with custom, we would parade it through the village to the cemetery, crying and wailing the entire way.” Her Mom further explained, “Once there, we will cry even more, pray and finally put you to rest.” The Woman of Faith then warned, “But rest assure, we will leave you there and return to our homes.” She then said, “Once there…you will be left alone with the Lord to explain why you never had time for Him in this life!” Suffice to say; Aisha said she quickly began spending more time with our Heavenly Father.
I will be the first to admit that this can still be a struggle for me at times. When it does, I always feel like my spiritual strength is being depleted. Dearest, maybe you, too, can relate to this problem? Thank goodness there’s a solution. One way that I prevent myself from getting too caught up and spending less time with God nowadays is to reflect on 1 Peter 2:2 NIV, which says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” Through this verse, I realize we should crave the Lord like a baby needs the nutriments of fresh milk. Without it, an infant can not survive. We should have the same dependency for the “pure spiritual milk” of our Majestic Father. Once this happens, spending time with Him will transform from a casual occurrence into a daily necessity, as essential as breathing.
Make no mistake the day is coming when each of us will be ‘left alone with the Lord.’ In that moment, we will either have cause to celebrate or to give worthless excuses. The fact is, Beloved, how we choose to spend our time with Him in the present, determines how He will choose to spend His time with us in the future!
