Isaiah 38:4-6 – “Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, ⁵ “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. ⁶ I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.”’

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, an interesting thought and question filled my consciousness.  It came from Isaiah 38:5, where God raised Hezekiah from his deathbed and gave him a bonus 15 years to live.

That raised a question inside my mind. “What would you do with the extra years?”  As interesting and even intriguing as that thought, the follow-up question was, “What will you do with the time you have left?”  Since none of us knows how much time we have left, we are unable to allot specific time to activities and endeavors. What we must do is focus on Now!

We live a life of perpetual procrastination on many fronts.  If we are young, we mistakenly embrace the idea of a future in which to do certain things.  If we are in our sunset years, we sometimes delay because we think our time is past, or we might not be able to finish the task.  Both are equally bad decisions.

James says that life is like a vapor, gone before you know it.  I recall graduating from high school as if it were yesterday.  Decades have now passed, and I am still here.  I am more limited physically than then, yet I am here, so I have purpose, assignment, and opportunity.   What do I do with my time?   What is my focus?   What am I investing my life in?   When the end of physical earthly life comes, will I have used my time wisely and productively for the kingdom? Only I can make that choice.

We are told to redeem the time.  How do we do that?  Matthew 6:33 is a perfect key and revelation. Make God our priority in Everything!   Everywhere, and every time, all the time.  What is more important than God? I hope the answer is Nothing!

If God gave you 15 more years to live, what would you do?   How would you live? Maybe that’s exactly how you should live Now!

LORD, help us to redeem the time and make proficient use of all the time we have here!