We need to make the most of the time. And we do so not by striving harder or filling our hours with empty work, but by surrendering to God and serving Him in His strength.

Surrendering to God

Sometimes even your dreams must die because you are clinging to a vision of your own making. If you had achieved it, it would have been ashes in your mouth. But God always knows what is best for us, and He has our best interests at heart. We have to surrender our wills to Him and trust that He will do what is best.

The same is true of the temptation to trust in our own skill and our own strength. When we think we have expertise in an area, we may be tempted to trust in ourselves instead of God. But God knows far better than we do. After all, He is the One who created us in the first place! And He is infinitely wiser than we are.

Serving God

When we serve God and surrender to Him, then we are truly free. Service to any other lord or master will be slavery. It will not result in what is best for our lives.

Some people live out of a sense of frustrated inadequacy. They strive and strive to serve the Lord well, but they forget a key truth: we cannot do spiritual things on our own. We are dependent on God for everything, including serving Him and loving Him more. He is the one who works in our lives to renew our hearts in Him.

When we surrender to God, we can find splendor in the ordinary. There is nothing so small that it cannot bring Him glory. We can serve Him well even in doing the dishes or taking out the trash. If you are serving God instead of people, you will do even these small tasks with excellence, making the most of the time. And these small things matter—everything matters. Everything we do has an eternal impact.

To check out any of Ken’s past Friday morning series, visit out the archives.

Listen to more of Ken’s Q&A sessions here.