Don't Wait to Initiate: A New You Does not Start With A New Year #4thQuarter

My one encouragement to you in this post is simply this, don’t wait to initiate. There are just somethings in our lives that no matter how much we pray and wait for those things to manifest they just won’t. We can spend our time blaming God or we can gain wisdom to apply to our lives for greater results. Some things are unlocked by prayer (you trusting God to do something) and some by principle (you getting up and doing something). Both within themselves are acts of faith. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that we ought to come to God in faith and 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us we ought to walk by faith.  So the revelation is this, seasons do not determine our faith but rather our faith determines the seasons in our life. When we live by faith, we live in the N.O.W. (No Opportunity Wasted)!

Our number one hurdle is not the difficulty of life but actually the the inability to capitalize on the moment. We say this year in general or this aspect of my life has been rough this year but the general consensus on life is out and we all can agree that life is rough. However, I would say this a lot of the friction is self-imposed and comes as a result of abuse of opportunities and a wastage of time. A great example is someone in their 50’s looking back and wishing they did a lot of things different because they are now thinking about the generations behind them. Someone in their 40’s looking back on their family life wishing they spent more time with their kids when they were younger because now they are teenagers and they have a shaky relationship. Someone in their 30’s trying to go back to college because they did not capitalize on education when they had a chance or someone in their 20’s wishing they had taken their athletic talent in school more seriously because the door is closing for them to get any serious professional looks. We can all look back and wish there were some things we did different or we can look at the present and seize the moment.

Ephesians 5:15-17 says “¹⁵ So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. ¹⁶ Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. ¹⁷ Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”

Consider these three things as you look forward to the rest of your year as and life moving forward.

1. The game is not over until the clock hits zero.

After the Spurs thought they had the game won, Derek Fisher hits a shot with only four tenths of a second remaining.  

2. Life has a shot clock.

The year has 365 days, the month has 30 days, the week has 7 days, the days has 24 hours and each us has 60 minutes. When most people think about the time on something they think about the time limit. When successful people think about time they think about the time opportunity. Your time remaining in the rest of the year is not a limit but an opportunity to score. A great basketball player is not afraid of the shot clock but respects its presence and works along with it to maximize it to their advantage.

Psalms 90:12 says “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

3. The game is always on the line.

In Conclusion, this whole blog and Bible study series is just to prick you to do one thing to make the most of your time. I can write thousands of words and dozens of entries with principles and scriptures. It all will come back down to the sobering message of stewardship of our greatest asset which is time itself. So I want to encourage you today to apply the action steps and keep an open mind that God operates outside of our time and His timing is perfect.

Action Steps

1. Shift your goal focus from the new year to the N.O.W.
2. Write down one thing that may seem impossible but you are willing to work at to accomplish before the year is over.
3. Pray for God to redeem the time as you move towards purpose that He will give you favor to regain the things you have lost.

Shaquille " Young Rev" Hanna

An entrepreneur, youth leader, speaker, blogger, and music artist. Young Rev is a media enthusiast resourcing every medium to Change the Culture for the kingdom. Check out his Soundcloud, Instagram, and Facebook page to stay in touch with him.