We are not made to coast, but many of us do. We get up, go to work, go home, watch TV and start all over again with the feeling, “I am not hurting anybody so why not chill out alone…it keeps me out of all the drama. It’s not like God has reached down from heaven and told me to do anything differently.” Is comfort and convenience your calling card…the whim of your desires?
Paul the Apostle responds to the above question with candor. In Ephesians 5:10&14-17, he forcibly tells us to “find out what pleases the Lord… This is why it is said: ‘Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is.” He is emphatic:
- “Find out what pleases the Lord.”
- “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise.”
- “Make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
- “Do not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
God clearly has a personal plan for each of us. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10)
- “We are God’s handiwork…”
- “Created in Christ Jesus to do good…”
- “Which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
- The “we” here includes you and me.
- So, let’s get in the game.
I want to encourage you from Paul’s own words, “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead.” Once you wake up and determine to make the most of every God given opportunity, you will find wonderful encouragement, “Christ will shine on you.” God’s people are not made to coast!
Barnabas Man 