My Precious Lord, a life without You only produces a bitter, lonely, and hopeless life. One filled with You is fulfilling. Even though my life encounters barriers that block my enjoying life, I remain satisfied because of my hope in You. My goal must be not to waste my time on sinful or meaningless things that turn into bad habits and make me become calloused toward You. How quickly does death come upon me … how swiftly the fire of life within me dissipate? That is why I must recognize that time is a precious resource that must be used wisely and not squandered. Stripped of You, my life is void and in vain. Stripped of Your love and support, my attempts at service are futile. I must always put You and Your will first … over everything else that I do and say … because without Your involvement I really have nothing. Knowing that my life is futile and unfulfilling without You should motivate me to seek You first.
There are endless opinions about life and how it should be lived. But I will not succeed unless I spend a time feeding on the truths found in Your Word. The wisdom I gain should produce things that please You. As I study Your Word, I begin to understand and do what it requires of me. Since my time on earth is limited, I should strive to learn all I can about You and the truths that will affect my life and my place in eternity. If I miss out on my purpose and the direction for my life, I should at least revere You and obey Your commands. At least this should get me to a good place with You. When I think life is unfair, I should remember that You will review my whole life to determine how effectively I responded to the way You commanded. My hope is that I will measure up to Your standards. No matter what mysteries and apparent contradictions I experience in life, I must never leave out getting to know You.
While Your desire is for me to lead a fulfilling life, this does not exempt me from obeying Your commands. In them, I must search for my purpose (i.e.-why did You put me here?). I know that I cannot find it in human endeavors. I must acknowledge the existence of evil, foolishness and injustices that exist in the world. Yet I must maintain a positive attitude and a strong faith in You. When I stand before You in judgement, I cannot use life’s disappointments and struggles as my excuses for not living for You. To live a productive life, I must: 1) Recognize that human effort apart from You is futile and meaningless; 2) put You first in all things; 3) accept the fact that every good gift in my life comes from You; 4) realize that both the bad and good I did with my life will be judged by You; 5) recognize that every enjoyment I experience in life comes from my relationship with You. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
II Timothy 1:9 Join me in suffering for the Gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of His purpose and grace.