Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. (James 4:13–14 NLT)

Life passes quickly, although it doesn’t always seem that way. When you’re young, life seems to move at a snail’s pace. I vividly remember being in elementary school, bored beyond comprehension. I was just waiting for the clock to strike the right number so that I could get up for recess or go home. It seemed like I was in elementary school for thirty years. Every day seemed to take forever.

Now weeks fly by in an instant. Another month comes and goes. And before you know it, a new year has arrived. Billy Graham was once asked what the greatest surprise of his life was. He replied, “The brevity of it.”

Researchers tell us that the reason life seems to go faster when you’re older is that you’re not having as many new experiences. You get into routines. You go to the same restaurant, you sit at the same table, you order the same thing off the menu. Apparently, variety is not just the spice of life; it’s also the slow-er of time.

James compared life on this earth to a morning fog: “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here for a little while, then it’s gone” (James 4:14 NLT). But he didn’t mourn life’s shortness. Instead, he urged believers to embrace the challenge of living a meaningful, fulfilling, godly life—a life that matters—all the while realizing that that life could end at any moment. He continued, “What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.’ Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil” (verses 15–16 NLT).

He was talking about living with a sense of urgency. That’s not the same as rushing into things. There’s certainly nothing wrong with methodical thinking or long-range planning. The mistake comes in taking for granted that we have the time to do what needs to be done. The mistake comes in assuming that we know how things will play out.

God has surrounded us with opportunities. To unlock the power of prayer in our lives. To take deep dives into His Word and come away with a greater understanding of Him and His will. To share the amazing truth of Christ with people who don’t know Him. To use the gifts He’s given us. To make a difference in the lives of people in need.

No matter how many years God allows us to live, we don’t have enough time to become complacent about seizing those opportunities. We don’t have enough time to procrastinate.

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Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.) But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison. (Acts 8:1–3 NLT)

We all know many non-Christians, but I want you to think of someone who’s an antagonistic unbeliever. Maybe it’s a neighbor, spouse, parent, coworker, or someone else. Not only does this person reject Christianity, but they also give Christians a hard time about their faith.

Today, I want you to pray for that person by name, that God would get ahold of them and bring them into His kingdom. Why? Because no one is beyond the reach of God. That’s something we all need to remember. No one is unsavable, even if they seem that way. No matter how much of a mess they’ve made of their life. No matter how many bad decisions they’ve made. No matter how severe the consequences have been. No one is beyond the reach of God.

Our tendency is to say, “That person will never change. That addict will never stop using. That alcoholic will never stop drinking. That person will never stop living that way.” But that’s short-sighted, isn’t it? Because, with God, all things are possible. He can change anyone.

And consider this: That person who is so antagonistic toward the Christian faith actually may be closer to the kingdom of God than you imagine. Their extreme opposition may be due to the fact that they’re under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. That’s what we see in Acts 8, in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus.

It’s hard to overstate how much Saul (also known as Paul) despised Christianity. He presided over the death of Stephen, the courageous first martyr of the church. He forced Christians to scatter to foreign lands with his campaign of terror. He imprisoned believers in his quest to destroy the church.

And then one day Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus. And he experienced the most radical and unlikely conversion in church history. It was so unexpected that the believers who heard about it dismissed it as a lie or a trick on Saul’s part.

But it was genuine. The man who had previously dedicated his life to the destruction of the church now dedicated it to the spread of the church. He, who had been controlled by hate, was now motivated by love.

No one is beyond God’s reach. So keep praying for that person who rejects you and your gospel message. Don’t get discouraged. Let the joy of Christ continue to shine through you. Keep the lines of communication open. Even the strongest opposition can weaken over time.

Take comfort in the words of Romans 8:31: “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (NLT). That’s some hard-earned wisdom right there—straight from the apostle Paul himself.

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The Lord will not reject his people; he will not abandon his special possession. (Psalm 94:14 NLT)

It’s a strange thing to feel alone when you share a planet with more than eight billion people. Yet we all feel alone on occasion—Christians and non-Christians alike. We convince ourselves that we’re living a solitary existence, that no one notices us or cares about what we do or feel.

Psalm 94:14 reminds us that we are, in fact, not alone: “The Lord will not reject his people; he will not abandon his special possession” (NLT). Whatever you’re facing, you’re not alone. God is with you. He walks beside you through your valley. He accompanies you through your storm.

The problem is that distractions can keep us from sensing God’s presence. That’s why He says in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God!” (NLT). Embrace quiet.

When the prophet Elijah felt all alone and feared for his life, God made His presence known to Elijah with the “sound of a gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12). That was all Elijah needed to realize he wasn’t alone.

God also makes His presence known through His Word. So if you feel alone, spend some time reading, meditating on, and memorizing Scripture. Start with passages such Deuteronomy 31:6; Philippians 4:6–7; and 1 Peter 5:7. Pray about the things you read. Ask God to help you sense His nearness.

Prayer is important because we have an enemy who thrives on our weaknesses. The apostle Peter wrote, “Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 NLT). Like a lion on the prowl, our enemy targets solitary prey. He exploits our feelings of loneliness and tries to create distance between us and God. But God has a plan to defeat our enemy.

God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18 NLT). Peter wrote, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another” (1 Peter 4:10 NLT). Those two verses are not unrelated. To lovingly serve other people, we must look away from our own needs and focus on the needs of others. In doing so, we make a connection with the people we serve. And often we make connections with other people who serve.

The author of Hebrews wrote, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near” (10:25 NLT). He’s talking about fellowship, one of God’s most underrated gifts to us. Fellowship—the gathering together of the people of God—is an antidote to aloneness.

Just as serving with others prevents isolation and creates connections, so does worshipping God with others. Your fellow church members share many of your core values and priorities. The more you get involved in your church, the stronger those connections become. So, if you find yourself struggling with feelings of loneliness, draw closer to God and His people.

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