Life is something we don’t often really think about. We’re here one minute and gone the next. We seem to have so much time to do everything we want to, but in reality it is gone so quickly. We wake up one morning realizing that the last 18 years of our lives have just flown by right before our eyes and there is nothing we can do to slow it down.
So what do we do with the time we have left?
It goes so quickly and is limited to an amount of time that varies from person to person but is unknown to all.
How are we supposed to live life to the fullest when we live in such uncertainty?
How do we do all of the things we want to do in our lifetime when our future is unknown?
But you see, that’s where the problem lies. We don’t have to live in uncertainty and fear of the unknown because while our immediate future is a mystery, in the long run we can know exactly what will happen to us. Our eternal future is information that is given to us. Because of this certainty we have, we know how to live our lives. Because of the hope we have in Christ and what he did for us on the cross we don’t need to slow down time in order to live our lives to the fullest. We simply need to look to him for guidance and live our lives in accordance to his plans for our lives because his plans are perfect!
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
But what’s crazy about this verse is that it was written to people who had been sentenced to exile by King Nebuchadnezzar. They were sentenced to a situation far from ideal and far from the idea of a perfect life lived to the fullest. But despite their situation, God promised that he is going to give them a future and a hope and that he has plans for them. But not just any plans-plans for good! They just need to lean into him and get through this situation using the strength that they find in him. The same is true for us today.
Our lives are short, but God still has plans for each and every person he created. But sometimes we will be sentenced to exile. Sometimes our situations will be far from where we want them to be, but God still has plans for good for our lives. All we have to do is look to him for strength to endure our current circumstances. He loves us so much and it is his desire to help us through whatever we’re going through in life.
Romans 8:35,37-38 says “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean that he no longer loves us if we face troubles, or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?…No despite all of these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loves us. I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of Hell can separate us from God’s love.”
Nothing can ever separate us from his love, but we have to choose to live in his love. When we choose to live in his love, he is then able to help guide us along the path to live out his perfect plan for our lives despite any troubles we may walk through. When we walk according to his great plans for our lives, we will then be living our lives to the fullest. He knows what we need, his plans are carefully crafted for each individual, and they are perfect.
Life is short and so often we try to cram so much into it, but how much of that is God’s plan for our lives? We have so much room for the things that we think will make our lives complete and allow us to eventually die content with our lives and the adventures we had, but we rarely have room for the things that really will make our lives complete. We don’t make room for God’s plan and the only way to truly live a fulfilling life. His plans are perfect and if we live according to them, he will give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4) He will allow us to have those crazy adventures we long to experience while also doing the work he created us for.
So how often does God have control of your life?
How often do you obediently follow his plans?
Are you truly living your life to the fullest or are you simply living a life waiting for the next opportunity to try and create a fulfilling experience while never being satisfied?
These are all questions I’ve been convicted of lately, and I’m ready to start really living. I’m ready to finally walk along the path that God has prepared for me instead of trying to create my own.
