(This was my very first article for the Inyo Register – 2008).
Since relocating to Bishop from Southern California a couple of months ago, I have noticed that the greatest commodity lacking here doesn’t seem to be water, but time. It appears everybody’s calendar is full. Work, errands, internet, sports, T.V., community events, things to do around the house. At the end of the day we collapse in a heap knowing that we still didn’t “get everything done” that we needed to, resolving to get up even earlier the next day.
In honesty though, this is how life is in the 21st century. My friend lives on a remote South Pacific island where you think it would be laid back, but even he has one of the craziest schedules of anybody I know. You would think the introduction of automobiles, cell phones and computers to our lives would have allowed us to get all the important things of our lives taken care of, yet we all fall victim to the “time bandits.”
The truth is this has been a battle for most of history. Moses prayed in Psalm 90, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” In the midst of the Sinai Desert, in the absence of phones, internet and cable, Moses had to make it a point make the most of time, and to understand his purpose. He continues, “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” We should not be streaming through life at warp speed, and forgetting that God the Creator of all loves us. In fact, this should give us joy. In verse 16, Moses asks, “Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes establish the work of our hands!”
In the midst of the hustle, we need to understand that we are made to glorify God. Our purpose in life was to ascribe to God His worth. God has given us work to do, work that will please Him. One of our daily concerns should be to understand just what it is that He wants us to do for Him. Just as Moses did 3500 years ago, we can only pray for His glorious power to help us make it count.
Lord, help me to keep things in perspective. Show me how to honor you this day. And give me the strength to follow it through. Go before me, Lord this day. As I follow, lead the Way. In everything I say and do, May it serve to honor You. Amen.
