What are you doing?

"What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God." ~Eleanor Powell

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.-Ephesians 5:15&16, ESV

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”-James 4:13-15, ESV

My friends and I have this inside joke that started from a funny, you-just-had-to-be-there situation (as most inside jokes do).  We always get a chuckle from the group when one person asks the question "What are you doing?"  Whenever someone asks that question, typically someone else would respond--intentionally or unintentionally--with a completely strange and unexpected remark.  Even though we typically say it as a joke to each other, I want to challenge you with this question: "What are YOU doing?"

I used to get so frustrated when I would hear people telling me "You only have one life to live. Make the most of it."  Once I got out of high school, every song I heard screamed: "You're wasting your life! Stop being idle and live for God!"  I used to get anxious and tense as I struggled to figure out what God wanted me to do with my life.  Waiting was not an option.  I wanted a boyfriend so I could think about marriage and raising a family.  I wanted money so I could easily pay for college and start saving for a house.  I wanted clarification of what I should do as a career so I could pick the right major in college.  Any day I did not have plans, I would sit and cry.  "That's one more minute that I'll never get back," I would sulk, knowing that time is a gift from God and I was not using it properly.  Or so I thought.

Lately I have learned to slow down a bit.  This summer has definitely taught me that using time does not mean constantly doing chores, activities, and plans.  It could also mean resting, meditating, and spending time reading God's Word.  The Sabbath was one of the Ten Commandments; that means that He used to require the Israelites to rest.  Rest and relaxation are also gifts from God; although you are not producing tangible results by sitting down and meditating, you are making time for God by listening to what He has to say to you. 
So what does this mean, then?  What do we do with verses like Ephesians 5:15&16, which says to use your time wisely and make the most of every opportunity?  Looking at the whole of Ephesians 5, Paul is not talking about working like the Energizer Bunny for God.  He is talking about staying pure and living a life that does not reflect a sinful nature.  He does not want us going out and imitating the unwise; he wants us to be imitators of God (5:1). 

I believe that the simplest way to make the most of every opportunity is to be content with where God has placed you already.  We are always looking for more opportunities to serve Him.  Those of us in college say, "Once I graduate, I'm going to get married" or "I can't wait until I graduate so I can take what I learn to the real world."  Those of us who do not have a clue what we are doing with our lives say, "God, give me an opportunity to serve you" or "I'm just wasting my life sitting here on my chair."  Personally, I am studying to be a missionary, and I keep telling myself "When I go on a missions trip, I'll do this" or "I can't wait to graduate so I can finally be a missionary."  But God is calling me to be a missionary right now.  And God is calling you to something right now.

We always have these plans for our future.  I personally have had a laundry list of things that I am going to do at certain times in my life.  When I was five, I wanted to be a writer.  As I got older, I made an exact plan of what I was going to do: I was going to go to Brown University in Rhode Island and get a major in English and a minor in Creative Writing, with Journalism on the side.  I was going to work as an editor of a newspaper company and write books.  I was going to find my husband in college and get married right after I graduated.  Then we would spend two years traveling the world, and then we would come back to America and settle down.  Several years later, I am studying to be a missionary English teacher at a small private school in New York, I have not found my husband yet, and I am starting to travel the world while in college!  God has changed my life around so much, and yet I still want to plan my future as if I know exactly what is going to happen.

As it says in James 4:14, no one knows what is going to happen to us in the future.  The only thing we are truly sure of is the present.  What is your current situation?  Are you fresh out of college, looking for a job?  Are you in college, wondering if you made the right decision to switch your major?  Did you just graduate high school, and you feel like your life is going in a million different directions?  Rejoice in whatever state you are in RIGHT NOW.  You may be wishing you had a boyfriend but maybe this is God's time for you to grow independent.  You may want to know your career path but God wants to show you your identity in Christ.  Our current situation gives us hope for the future, but we cannot act like the future is the only thing that matters.

I read a story somewhere a while ago.  I am sorry that I cannot give credit to whoever wrote it, because it doesn't pop up right away on Google.  This is not my own story, but it is a convicting one.  The story says that a man asked God what He thinks about humanity.  God replied that they are always wishing for something but never being satisfied with what they already have.  Kids spend their childhood wishing they were older, and when they grow up, they wish they could go back to being children.  People wish their whole lives away, without realizing that what they ask for is usually right in front of them.

My challenge to you is to appreciate what you have right now.  Thank God for what you have; do not ask Him for what you hope to have in the future.  Here are some verses of things you have already; I encourage you to look them up on your own.  When God's timing is right, He will begin to reveal to you your future.  Until then, be content with what you have today.

Ephesians 2:6
Ephesians 1:5
Romans 8:15
2 Timothy 1:7
2 Peter 1:3-4
Ephesians 6:10-18
Romans 6:4
Romans 5:1-2