Do you know of someone who is notoriously late? I mean they are late for everything. If they were coming to pick up a check from Publishers Clearing House for a cool million dollars they would be 15 minutes late. (that is bad!) In fact some of their family might even say "you're going to be late for your own funeral."
All of us know someone like that. In reality being late is not usually a life or death thing. It is not normally something that we should be proud of but it is not always critical. However there is one area where being late is an issue. Where later is not better than early. We see it nestled in a beautiful Psalm. Psalm 63....Read it with me...
O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You. My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.
The phrase I want us to focus on today is "Early will I seek You." Now this can be interpreted in many different ways. I want us to reflect on a few of these in our time today.
We should seek God early.....
1) In Life.... Years ago I heard of a statistic that has stuck with me through the years. It gave the age and percentages of who and when people came to faith in Christ. It said that 85% of Christians surveyed had trusted Christ before the age of 18. 14% had trusted in Christ before the age of 65 and 1% had after the age of 65. Can you see that the vast majority had come to Christ at an early age.
Many who did not come to Christ when they were young have told me they wish they had. I remember one dear lady who had been through several marriages who shared with me that she wished she would have known earlier. She even offered to speak to our teens to share what a difference HE would make if they would give their lives to Him. We should seek God EARLY in our lives...
2) In Troubles.... When we are going through difficult times we should seek HIM early. Far too many times we are days into our struggle before think about seeking HIM. Why do we fret and struggle with our problems when we have a friend that sticks closer than a brother? Jesus Himself says this to us....
Come unto ME all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.... Matt. 11:28...
We should seek HIM early when problems arise and troubles catch us by surprise. Turn to HIM first and seek HIS wisdom and graces.....
3) In Decision Making.... How many times we just "make" the decisions of life without even consulting our great God. We wrestle with the what's and the how's of decisions and make them without consulting HIM or HIS word. HE tells us to...
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge HIM and HE shall direct your paths..Proverbs 3:5-6
We should seek HIM early in our decision making process and save ourselves a lot of pain and struggle. He longs for us to turn to HIM and seek HIS wisdom. HE will lead us and guide us when we look to HIM for direction!
4) In the Day.... Now this is what I believe is the primary principle I see in this passage. We should come to HIM early in the day. Each day has its own issues, Its own struggles, its own decisions. Seeking HIM early will establish our hearts first thing each day. It will set the course of our day with HIM not only in mind but in the drivers seat. When we start each day with our Lord it is amazing how it fills me with HIS peace. IN fact Matthew 6:33 sets the priority for us...
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.....
5) In Salvation.... You know that there is the awful reality that some will put off the most important relationship decision of their lives until it is too late. They actually are deceived into thinking that they can wait and wait they do..... until it is too late. Salvation is NOT to be delayed.
We must deal with this all important question. What will we do with the claims of Christ on us? What about those scriptures that say "you must be born again" and "there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus?" What will we do with what they communicate? Do not delay. Do not believe you can put it off another day. No man knows the day nor the hour when death will come. Once we close our eyes in death, it is too late. So my friend if you have not received the free gift of eternal life come to Christ today....
So, when it comes to our relationship with our Great God we should plan to NEVER be late. No matter which area, we should NEVER be late. May we seek HIM early, each and every day......
You'll be glad you did!!!!
Blessings
Bruce
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