Do You Have a Sense of Urgency?

Time seems to be going faster and faster with each waking moment. Each night as I go to bed I think, “Another day is already over? How can that be! It seems like I just got up!”

My mom used to say the older we get the faster times goes by. I used to think she was crazy. But now I know exactly what she meant. I suppose it’s because I am more conscious that the #days I have already lived far surpass the #days I have left.

Wrinkles, aching bones, and flabbier muscles constantly remind me that I’m getting older. As someone has cleverly said, “My get up and go has got up and left!”

I am gripped with an ever-increasing sense of urgency; a desire to not waste any of my precious remaining time. I hate wasting anything, and I want my life to count.

Do you have this sense of urgency too?

Jesus appointed us to “go and bear fruit—fruit that will last” (Jn 15:16). What greater way could there be to make our last days count for eternity than to serve the Lord?

But what really gives me a sense of urgency is the imminent return of Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself predicted…

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Mat 24:6-8)

Have you noticed the increase in messages preached and books written about these end times? If we’re not careful, fear could overtake us. But Jesus said not to be alarmed (v 6).

And if we’re not careful this sense of urgency could also make us live frenzied lives—running around like a chicken with its head chopped off (even though it may be going a little slower than it used to! 😊).

We’re not called to fix the world, witness to every person, solve everyone’s problems, etc. But we are called to do whatever the Lord has prepared for us to do (Eph 2:10).

A sense of urgency should motivate us to do something meaningful; to get off our duffs—not to become flustered, frustrated, and frazzled about the future. We can relax because God is in control of it all. He is working all things together for good.

So instead of becoming fearful, let’s think about how we can use our time to further God’s kingdom. Whether you are old or a spring chicken, what can you do in this PRESENT moment that honors God? Is it…

• Taking care of your family?
• Serving in a ministry?
• Reading (and hopefully applying) this blog? 😊
• Just spending quality time with God?

Ask yourself, in this moment…

• How can I make the Gospel attractive?
• To whom could I witness?
• What praise or prayers could I offer up?
• Who can I encourage…

There are 31,557,600 seconds, 525,960 minutes, or 8766 hours per year. However, God is not asking us to focus on the last second, minute, or hour of our lives—or even of this year. He’s asking us to dedicate this very moment to Him.

At any given moment you and I can strive to do our best and live with excellence for God. As Oswald Chambers would say, “My utmost for His highest.”

So my friends, let us use these last remaining days, whether they are few or many. Let God instill in us a sense of urgency to do something productive for His kingdom, but with a calm assurance in our hearts that He is still on the throne. Let us pray to God like Moses did…

Seventy years are given us! And some may even live to eighty. But even the best of these years are often empty and filled with pain; soon they disappear, and we are gone. Who can realize the terrors of your anger? Which of us can fear you as he should? Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should…. And let the Lord our God favor us and give us success. May he give permanence to all we do. (Ps 90:10-12, 17 TLB)

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