ICS Daily Devotions
Time Keeps On Ticking
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but [only] one receives the prize? So run [your race] that you may lay hold [of the prize] and make it yours. 25 Now every athlete who goes into training conducts himself temperately and restricts himself in all things. They do it to win a wreath that will soon wither, but we [do it to receive a crown of eternal blessedness] that cannot wither. 26 Therefore I do not run uncertainly (without definite aim). I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary. 27 But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit].
Someone said, we enjoy the process of becoming successful, but once we reach or achieve the objective then it is no longer challenging. Our heart remains empty. A lady CEO who was very successful in the corporate world called for a time out from work because she felt that there should be more meaning to life than having her schedule fully booked weekly. She was flying across different continents to have meetings and at times didn’t know which country or hotel she was in when she woke up in the middle of the night. She needed time to think and process how she wanted the rest of her life to be like since she was in her mid-forties.
Most of us would have heard of some of these books like “Time Out” or “Half Time” written by people who have taken time out to rethink about life, specifically the purpose of life. Is life just about work and endless work? Is this a good time for you to call for a time out to discover what to do with your life?
The Apostle Paul mentioned his willingness to deny himself if he might be the means of benefitting others. He was single compared to his peers and fellow apostles. However, he felt so blessed by the salvation brought by Jesus Christ that he considered anything and everything that he had experienced in the past as worthless. He was very focused in life; he was very focused towards obtaining the crown of eternal blessedness that cannot wither!
The Apostle Paul compared two boxers in this passage. There is one boxer who does shadow boxing, like striking the air, without an actual adversary. The other boxer is very serious about his training by buffeting his body, meaning to handle it roughly and discipline it by hardships, and subduing it.
To receive the prize, we need to live our life with a purpose – time is short compared to eternity.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 8:5-6 He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful; And a wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment, 6 Because for every matter there is a time and judgment, Though the misery of man increases greatly.
Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 31:15 My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, And from those who persecute me.
Ephesians 5:16-18 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
Psalm 90:12 (NKJV) So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Many people live and die, but have never once stepped into their purpose while they were still alive. What a tragedy. God’s plan and purpose for us will be revealed to our heart as we spend time reading His Word, praying and seeking Him. He’s not hiding it from us. We are to make it our aim to spend some time setting our heart out before the Lord. Seek Him and His Word to discover our divinely implanted sense of purpose.
Did you know that God’s plan for your life is a blessed plan? Often, people have their own ideas and life plans and they expect God to bless their plans. That’s a backward way to approach life. Why not seek the Lord on His plan and purpose for your life, knowing that His plan is already blessed?
Habakkuk 2:1-4 I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. 2 Then the LORD answered me and said: ” Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.4 ” Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.
God has a divinely implanted sense of purpose for us! Isn’t that a wonderful thought? We were born for a reason. We are not an accident. God planned for our arrival, whether or not our parents did. He has a divine purpose and plan for us. His plan or purpose is not meant to burn us out with the stress, pressure, and overload.
Do you have a vision or a plan for your life? Family? Career? Ministry? Do you have a plan for this year? This month? This week? Today? Jot down any plans or strategies the Lord has given you for accomplishing those things. You have five roles in life to fulfill: Husband or Wife, Father or Mother, a child of God, a corporate person, and a servant of God. Discipline yourself by looking for mentors in different areas of your life: spiritual, business ethics, parenting, being a husband or wife, service.
Write your vision in such a practical way that when you read it you are motivated to run with it. Keep it simple. Strategic. Practical.
If you can articulate your vision on paper, it’s very likely that this will become your personal roadmap. Often getting things off our minds and on paper has a way of relieving mental stress and clutter overload.
Sermon Series: Grace for the Pace 6
