Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. 11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. 12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
Time is something we have had and have now, but we have no idea if we’ll have it tomorrow or next week. One thing we don’t know is our time. We all take it for granted. We have to make plans, but we should make them on a tentative basis. We will do all things if God wills. We presume we have plenty of time. Would you live differently if you knew how much time remains? No matter how much it is, it’s still short compared to eternity.
The unsaved don’t want to face the fact in front of them. The Lord has given us plenty of time and chances. Verse 11 says time and chance happeneth to all. If we stand before the Lord this time tomorrow or a week from now or a year from now, we can’t say we didn’t have enough time. God has given us plenty of time. We don’t know how much is left, but it’s enough. If we still hold to consecrate our life to God, there is enough time. The thief on the cross knew his time was running out. We need to grasp that fact. Our time is less than it has ever been. I’m glad we don’t k now when our time is, but we do know our time is in God’s hands. Don’t waste it looking back at how things were. We have taken the place of the older folks because we now are them. I’m thankful to be my age. Let’s not live in the past or the future. Live in the moment and not waste time and life with regrets.
We can’t turn back the clock. Time is moving; it follows us around. Solomon saw how foolish he was in wasting time. Now getting to the end he realized he was running out of time. He didn’t realize his life as he lived it. He didn’t consider how precious time was. Other than salvation, our time is our most precious thing. God has a purpose for my life and yours. I know that because my time is still here. When my mommy and daddy died I thought I couldn’t go on, but I did. My time wasn’t up.
Verse 10 says whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. Don’t wish, don’t worry, don’t throw, and don’t waste your life away. Whatever you can do for the Lord do it with all your might. When my time comes I’m going no matter what medical professionals do. All the wishing won’t bring loved ones back. Be excited that they have made it home.
Life is nothing but the time we have. Job said the Lord gives and he takes away—blessed be the name of the Lord. We’ll have no fear when it comes if we don’t waste it now. What time is left, thank the Lord for it. Lift up somebody. Reach the unsaved. When time runs out we can go home. For now, make the time you have count. You’ll find yourself ready.
Do we know our time? No, but we can appreciate what time we have and use it for the Lord.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 