One of the greatest ways we deceive ourselves is by thinking that we have plenty of time. This way of thinking can get us into a lot of trouble because before we know it, our lives are over, and we die full of regrets because we realize too late that there is not plenty of time. Notice what the following Psalms say:
Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 39:4 "LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am.
We never fully understand how weak we are or how short our days are until something bad happens to us and we discover that we cannot do the things we used to. It is important we remind ourselves daily that we must take advantage of each day we have on this earth to do the will of our heavenly Father. As Jesus taught:
Luke 12:35 " Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; 36 "and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. 37 "Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. 38 "And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 "But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 40 "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
Much could be said about these verses, but the main point is that we as Christians must stay prepared for the coming of the Lord. Unlike those who claim that they know when Jesus is coming, God's Word teaches us that we do not know. Jesus may come back today or maybe 1000 years from now. He could come in the morning, evening, or night. While it would be nice to know when He was coming back, it is not important. What is important is that He is coming back on a day that we do not know, which is why it is imperative that we remain ready for His return no matter what day, month, or year it may be.
When we live each day for God and make the most of our time on this earth, then we can know with certainty that we will be ready for Jesus' return no matter when He comes back. So, stop deceiving yourself by thinking you have plenty of time to live for the Lord or to obey His will because you do not know when He will return, and you do not know how much time you have left on this earth.
Notice what James writes:
James 4:13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
The moment we become overconfident in how much time we have is the moment we can lose our souls to the devil. In fact, I believe this is a lie that the devil is proud of because when people think they have plenty of time left in life, they tend to put off the important things. I have heard younger people say, "I will get serious about God later; right now, I just want to have fun and live my life." Many people have this same attitude, but some never find that day, and they die in their sins. Others that finally turn to God, in the end, regret all the time they wasted on worldliness when they could have been laboring in God's kingdom.
My plea to you is for you to examine your life. If you are not living for God as you should, or you have been putting off doing something for the Lord, then I encourage you to make the commitment to start living for God today before it is too late and you die with regret or worse, you die while living in sin. I hope you will continue to make each day count and never think that you have plenty of time.