Spiritual Growth · Abundant Life
Where do we see ourselves in… 3 years? Time?
6 min read, approximately
Ecclesiastes 12:1 (Time)
“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the bad days come and the years arrive of which you say: I find no pleasure in them.”
One of the areas in which we most often fall short is our ability to plan and act. We tend to live as though we have time to spare, but the truth is that we never know how much time we have or how much is left. Some die during pregnancy, others in childhood, others in adulthood, and others in old age… We forget that
“Man is like to vanity: His days are as a shadow that passeth away.” (Psalms 144:4)
In short, we are here today; tomorrow we might not be… For that reason, we should not let time drain away
“Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16)
That is why the question “Where do we see ourselves in… 3 years?” reveals whether we have a focus or merely an illusion, whether we have a plan, and whether we have a desire to progress.
Let us consider
\1. Yes, we know, but it is worth remembering once more: “We will not live forever!”
“Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:13-14)
Do we have a plan? Do we have a project for the next 3 years? Let us remember that we will not live forever and get to work on one.
“Boast not thyself of to-morrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” (Proverbs 27:1)
Not tomorrow—let us begin today!
\2. Let us carry out what we have planned
“Be diligent in these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy progress may be manifest unto all.” (1 Timothy 4:15)
Many of us make plans, but when it comes to carrying them out, many of us stand watching from afar… Are we waiting for someone to do it for us? Let us commit ourselves to carrying out what we have planned!
“In all labor there is profit; But the talk of the lips [tendeth] only to penury.” (Proverbs 14:23)
\3. Let us not lose our focus
“Now it came to pass, when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah, and to Geshem the Arabian, and unto the rest of our enemies, that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein (though even unto that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), that Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in [one of] the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? And they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.” (Nehemiah 6:1-4)
The more focused we are, the more envious and slanderous people will rise up, wanting to obstruct our vision… Will we pay attention to them? Or, since we have no time to waste, will we ignore them and keep our focus?
“Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing [I do], forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)
\4. Above all, let us place everything in God’s hands
“The plans of the heart belong to man; But the answer of the tongue is from Jehovah. All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; But Jehovah weigheth the spirits. Commit thy works unto Jehovah, And thy purposes shall be established.” (Proverbs 16:1-3)
It would be a terrible mistake to undertake something without the Lord’s direction, would it not?…
“Trust in Jehovah, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on [his] faithfulness. Delight thyself also in Jehovah; And he will give thee the desires of thy heart. Commit thy way unto Jehovah; Trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass.” (Psalms 37:3-5)
It would be a shame to waste time through laziness…
“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; Consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no chief, Overseer, or ruler, Provideth her bread in the summer, And gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? [Yet] a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as a robber, And thy want as an armed man.” (Proverbs 6:6-11)
It would be a pity to have tools—gifts and talents—and not use them…
“For [it is] as [when] a man, going into another country, called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey. Straightway he that received the five talents went and traded with them, and made other five talents. In like manner he also that [received] the two gained other two. But he that received the one went away and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.” (Matthew 25:14-18)
It would be shameful to tell the Lord: “Lord, you gave your life for me, but I undertook nothing in mine”…
“For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things [done] in the body, according to what he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)
What if we changed the question “Where do we see ourselves in… 3 years?” to “How is the three-year plan we started a few months ago progressing?”?
“Remember… before the bad days come and the years arrive of which you say: I find no pleasure in them.” ( Ecclesiastes 12:1)
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May God continue to bless you, and may you continue to have an excellent day in Christ Jesus!