“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 NLT
The Puritans of the 16th and 17th centuries were wise in understanding the brevity of life. It may have been the shorter lifespan that they experienced compared to ours in the 21st century, but whatever the reason, they had a handle of what life is about and not waste a minute of it. ‘The Valley of Vision,’ a Puritan book of devotions is a must read for any Christian seeking how to get the most out of this life. The writers were stressing the importance of prayer and meditation seeking a deeper relationship with God. Contemplating who we are before a holy God and realizing life in its fullness can only be achieved by that close relationship is what inspired the Puritans to live the lives they did.
I have come across several key thoughts in my daily reading of ‘The Valley of Vision’ in the past week. One thought was that our lives are opportunities for us to be useful. We weren’t put on this earth just to take up space. God placed us here for a reason. We are to serve Him in this life. Every day of our lives is an opportunity to do just that. Each day of neglect is a day lost never to return. Yes, there will be days where opportunity is lost to no fault of our own, but the Lord also knows of those days and He understands. The key is, where is your heart and mind?
During the days you do not feel useful it is important to evaluate your time with God. Is your prayer and meditating on God’s Word on-going? Is your relationship with God strong? If it is, then your period of feeling useless should pass because God knows your frustration and perhaps it is His will for you at this time to set you down. But if the opposite is true in that your time with God is being compromised then it is time to evaluate further and bring to light the cause of this broken relationship. We have no time to waste. Our lives are an opportunity for usefulness because life is short for all of us.
Word for the Soul 