September 5

The Night Cometh

The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me. — Mark 14:7 BSB

Even Jesus felt the urgency of time’s brevity and the need to do His work without delay. How much more should we feel this urgency and use our time wisely. Each of us has work given to us by God. We are on a divine mission, sent to make the world a better place.

We only have a “day” to do this work — a lifetime. A day is brief. It doesn’t take long for the sun to rise and set. It’s also fixed. When the day is over, nothing can extend it. When death comes, there’s no more time. Unfinished work will remain unfinished forever.

Yet, the day is long enough for God’s plan. The sun never sets too early for what He intends. Every life, no matter how short, is long enough to fulfill God’s purpose. Even the infant who lives but an hour fulfills a divine plan. No one can claim that their life was too short to complete their mission. If we fill every moment with faithfulness, the time will be enough.

To have our work completed at the end of our lives, we must do it while the day lasts. The preacher Robert Murray M’Cheyne had a picture of a setting sun on his watch with the words “The night cometh.” Every time he checked the hour, he was reminded of the shortness of life and the need to use his time well. We should all take this lesson to heart.