Funds Now Available

I

 love banking via the Internet, especially when my schedule prevents me from running by the bank to make a deposit or a withdrawal.  Actually, deposits are like Haley’s Comet, they only come around once every 76 years it seems!!!  A quick gander at my checkbook register reveals that money flies out of my account much more readily than it flows in.  I am always in the black but it seems that the money in my account doesn’t stay in there long enough to even get comfortable!

My banking program allows me to connect with my bank and download all my transactions.  This helps me stay current with the bank and keeps me ever mindful of the funds I have available to spend during the month.  One of the most wonderful feelings comes from connecting to the website and seeing that my direct deposit has been made by the university.  During the night, while I sleep, the university’s accounting department forwards my paycheck directly to my account. The next morning, those funds are displayed on my screen and are available for use!

Has it ever occurred to you that God works the same way in our lives?  While we sleep, God is working, taking care of us and providing for us.  When we wake, we find that He has made a direct deposit of 24 hours into our lives.  The first rays of light, the first sounds of the day, the first movements of our bodies, and that first cup of coffee all serve to remind us that a fresh deposit of time has been placed in our accounts.  How we spend it is up to us.  The funds are available upon our waking but do we always spend the time God gives us in a wisely fashion?

This thought occupied the mind of Moses, the author of Psalm 90.  In this psalm, Moses offers a wonderful prayer to God.  He begins the psalm by praising the Lord for caring for His people throughout all generations.  Moses praises and thanks the Lord for His faithfulness, for always making deposits of time, grace, mercy, and love into the lives of His people.  Moses continues by enumerating the mighty acts of God drawing his examples from the created order and speaking of God’s eternal existence.

But Moses also realizes that man has a responsibility before God, a responsibility he often neglects and takes for granted.  It is this very fact that has caused him to write this psalm. Moses knows that people forget their maker too easily.  They need to be reminded that He is God, that He is eternal, that He is sovereign.  They need to know that without God their very existence is impossible.  That is why he calls on the Lord to return to His people and to teach them how to live and walk before Him in a right relationship.

In Psalm 90:12, Moses asks God to teach the people how to use their time wisely.  The New Living Translation renders the passage this way, “Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom.”  Please notice that this request carries with it a direct result.  Moses understands that the time God give us is precious. He also knows that only God can truly teach us how to use the time we have wisely and for His glory.  The result is that we may grow in wisdom.  When we learn to use our time in the right way and for God’s purpose, we do indeed become wise.  That means that when we neglect to use our time for the Lord and when we take it for granted, we become foolish and act accordingly.

This morning, the bank’s website told me I had funds that were available for use.  Those funds must last me until the end of the month so I keep looking for ways to spend the resources I have in a wise and responsible manner.  If you are reading this today, you are doing so because God made a direct deposit of 24 hours into your life account.  Those funds are now available.  Are you spending them wisely today?