Every Moment Matters | Northstar Church

“If you can’t fly, then run, If you can’t run, then walk, If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Many of us live life at breakneck speed. If our life was a Nascar race, we would not pit for more than 15 seconds before we were back on the racetrack of life. But life isn’t lived on a racetrack, nor will we experience the green flag when the race is finished. It is pretty much the opposite.

The book of James tells us that “how do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.” The problem with living your life like it is a Nascar race is that you are going too fast to embrace the moment. What’s special about this moment right now? Every moment has an inherent specialness simply because we’ll never have this moment again.

Have you ever thought of your life as a series of finite fragments that are here and gone? Do I appreciate my moments? How well am I spending those moments? How well am I using those moments to follow God’s plan for my life? In this moment God has given, how can I spend it well? Follow Jesus’ example and His saving sacrifice.

Sin and the enemy will threaten to steal our moments or insert roadblocks as we follow God. In these moments, let’s spend them wisely by looking to Jesus as our guide. He was fully man and God and fully understands how life’s moments can be less than blissful. Yet, He always chose to spend every moment well. Romans 12: 2 says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

The obvious question is what should we focus on for the remainder of 2022? The short answer is, everything, but specifically, how do we love God and love people in the various areas and categories of life? We cannot do this without being intentional. Imagine waking up every single day convinced that the twenty-four hours ahead of you are a precious gift to be used wisely. Now imagine that you know exactly how to spend them to be a force for God’s good. All too often we wander through life without appreciating the gift of every day we’ve been given. That leads to an unsatisfying life, missed opportunities to experience the joy of being in sync with God, and days marked with apathy instead of passion. Our time on earth is short. We should want to make every moment count—not only because we aren’t guaranteed the next one, but also because this is exactly how our Savior spent His time here. We don’t want to waste a single one.

Discussion Questions:

How do you live out the hope of the gospel every moment?
What can you do to make God a priority today?