Good, Better, Best

We've all had them. Those days where we focus on school/work, family, friends, and other extra activities. Those days that are so busy that when we finally find a second to catch our breath we have to ask, "Where has all the time gone?". Sometimes this is even the question we ask ourselves after several years of work or school. It's that moment where we stop and wonder what we've been doing with our lives. Time is a precious commodity -- how do we know if we are investing it wisely and according to God's will?

"Pay careful attention, then, to how you work -- not as unwise people but as wise -- making the most of the time, because the days are evil."

-Ephesians 5:15-16

The Blackaby brothers analyzed this verse in their book "Experiencing God Day-By-Day". The brothers say that "the temptation is to sacrifice what is best for what is good. The enemy knows that blatantly tempting you with evil will be obvious, so he will lure you with distractions, leaving you no time to carry out God's will. He will tempt you to so fill your schedule with good things that you have no time to carry out God's best," (p.239). 

I'm not going to lie and say that going to Hungary for four months is a huge sacrifice where I will be living in a hut and only get to converse with the people in my little "village". Of course the majority of my time will be spent doing mission work. But, I will have several opportunities to go to museums, shows, and sight-see during my semester abroad. Even so, I still struggled with the idea of spending four more months overseas after I had already spent six weeks there. I am in high school and should be preparing myself for college and the SAT exam. Wouldn't it be more logical to stay home and work on my academics? I only have two years left before college -- I should focus on school... right?

But then I realized that by doing so I would only be looking to do what is good for me -- what the world says I should be doing with my time in high school. Staying at home meant I would do little to grow God's Kingdom. It's not that I can't evangelize, volunteer and grow the Kingdom in the United States (quite the opposite!). But spending four months focusing on just that activity would make a much larger impact for God than staying home to focus 100% of my energy on school.

If you're having a hectic day/week/month/year where you're wondering where the time has gone, I would encourage you to seek God and ask Him to tell you what is best for you rather than continuing to do what is good for you. You don't have to pack up and head overseas but maybe there are some little changes that God has in mind in order for you to work toward His best for you. Reminds me of a little proverb I learned a few years ago -- "Good, better, best. Never let it rest until your good gets better and your better gets best."

Mary Kate