No Better Time

“This is the day the Lord has made.” Psalm 118:24 NKJV

“There is no better time than now to do what you should and what you can.”

My thoughts today are about “no better time.”

Life works best with a sense of balance. Some recent allergies briefly affected my inner ear. A few mornings ago, I stood up and suddenly everything seemed to be spinning. I took a step forward only to feel the sensation of being strongly pulled to one side, stumbling against a wall. I had momentarily lost my sense of balance. It was puzzling and temporarily worrisome. That little escapade made me newly value my body’s inner balance that I had taken for granted.

So much of life is about balance. You will always be balancing today and tomorrow. Today needs attention; tomorrow needs forethought. A person is shortsighted to be so focused on the moment that they face the future unaware and unprepared. But it is also unwise to be so preoccupied with plans and schedules for tomorrow that you miss much of what’s going on around you now.

Life needs balance; balance requires perspective. It is important to set goals and make plans, but be careful not to keep your happiness waiting upon reaching your goals. With those, your life has priorities and direction. Keeping plans and progress in balance helps you stay focused on what needs to be done today in order to succeed tomorrow. Don’t neglect today; don’t forget tomorrow.

My wife, Gayle, and I travel differently. She loves the experience of travel; I just want to “get there.” She brings a book to read and relax in the airport. I look at my watch to see how long before the plane leaves. Enjoy the journey, not just the destination; you’ll be a lot happier, and less stressed. I have realized that for too long I was usually working toward something future – when I had more time, when the kids were older, when we had saved enough money, when I wasn’t so busy, etc. I lived too many years by deferral. Don’t make the mistake I did.

You can defer a lot of living by not recognizing today as a gift from God. The Bible says, “This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it!” Psalm 118:24 NKJV. The day is the Lord’s gift; rejoicing is your choice. So much depends on what you choose to do with the few, brief moments in which you currently live. It’s not that complicated. Yesterday is done and gone, out of your power to redo or undo. Tomorrow remains well beyond your reach, waiting just off stage for its cue. You can’t save today or store it; you use today well or lose its possibilities and opportunities altogether.

There is no better time than now to do what you can and what you should. And the one thing for which there is no better time is for settling the matter of your spiritual life and eternal well being. Jesus told of a very successful man whose plans for the future ignored his moment of salvation and lost his soul forever. See Luke 12:16-21 NKJV. Felix, the Roman Governor, dismissed Paul’s witness of faith saying, “When I have a more convenient time I will call for you.” Acts 24:25 NKJV. To those who would procrastinate their single most important decision, the Bible says, “Now is the accepted time; today is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2 NKJV.

My prayer for you today is that you value the days and moments God gives you.