"Don Aslett, in his book, How to Handle 1,000 Things at Once, gives the following humorous but true list of things that don’t work:
Exchanging rent for help around the house
Lending books
Cleaning paint brushes “later”
Painting without a drop cloth
Letting a baby play with something valuable
Walking to the mailbox in your socks
Carrying a bucket that’s too full
Repairs on plastic toys
Surgery for obesity
Moving the piano or refrigerator by yourself because you’re in a hurry
Wearing new boots on a long hike
Wearing anything that is too small for you
Turning up the temperature on the oven so something will get done faster
You would think we would know by now that these things never work. Yet we keep trying them. The Bible says, a wise man will foresee evil but the simple-minded will pass on and be punished. Let’s be wise enough today to do what works so we can redeem the time.
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"The bubonic plague or the Black Death, as it is also known, is considered the world’s worst disaster. Over a 5 year period, from 1347 to 1352, 25 million people, 1/3 of Europe’s population, died from the plague.
That was a genuine catastrophe. Maybe remembering that will help us put things in perspective next time we have trouble getting to sleep. We often think it is a catastrophe when we don’t go to sleep within three minutes of our head hitting the pillow. We worry, then we fear, then we panic.
Remember sleeplessness happens to almost everyone at times. Someone said, the best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep. When you make a catastrophe of it, you only add fuel to the flame. Taking advantage of those quiet night hours to talk to God and read His Word till sleep comes will transform your sleeplessness from a catastrophic event to a choice opportunity to talk with your Father in Heaven and to redeem the time.
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"Here’s a riddle for you. What is the one thing that, the harder to try to get it, the less likely you are to succeed? The answer: Sleep.
It’s impossible to make yourself go to sleep. The more you fret over sleeplessness the worse it becomes. That’s why the best cure for sleeplessness is not to lie in bed and fight it, but rather to redeem that time by getting up and reading Scripture, writing a letter or praying until sleep comes.
Your sleeplessness is either coming from God or from the Devil. If it is coming from God you don’t want the miss the special blessing He wants to give you as you spend time with Him in the night. If it’s from the Devil, he would much rather let you get back to sleep than have you read God’s Word and pray.
Either way, you win by getting up and redeeming the time.
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"A new student asked the skydiving instructor, ""If our chute doesn't open, how long do we have until we hit the ground?"" The instructor replied, ""The rest of your life.”
Obviously in that case the rest of your life might not be very long. And truthfully, none of know how long the rest of our life will be. But one thing is certain. You have less time today than you had yesterday. You have fewer tomorrows and more yesterdays than you’ve ever had. The pace at which we sail through life is ever quickening. That’s why it is now more important than ever that you stop procrastinating on what God is calling you to do.
Can you think of something you really want to see happen before you die? A ministry you want to start? A relative you want to lead to Christ? True, you’ve got the rest of your life to do it. But, that might not be as long as you think. Start on it today by redeeming the time.
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