This past February, Laura and I were blessed to get away for a two-week vacation on the Atlantic Ocean. It was an incredibly relaxing time. God seems to use the ocean waves to speak to me, and this past vacation was no exception.

The Lord downloaded at least half a dozen ideas, and if you would indulge me today, I’d like to share the two most impactful ones for me.

Insight 1: There is never one second of any day that God’s love for Me wanes

One morning while watching the sun rise over the rhythmic sounds of the ocean, the relentless pounding of the Atlantic’s waves was a powerful reminder of God’s relentless love for me. No matter what, you cannot stop His love from pursuing you! Right after this insight came to my mind, the verse of the day popped up in my Bible Gateway app: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I think God may have been trying to make a point that morning. All of us have heard that God loves us. Why was the reminder of this first insight so important?

• Because there are days when I don’t feel “lovable.” How about you? Ever wonder how God can love you in your worst of moments? His love doesn’t wane on those kinds of days. He loves us even when we struggle. And because He loves us, He’s consistently working on bringing those areas of struggle under His loving control more and more.
• Another reason this first insight matters? Because operating out of the conviction that we are completely loved by our Heavenly Father colors everything we do in life. Our marriage. Our parenting. Our friending. Our leadership. Knowing His love is a no-doubt arrangement helps us get free from addiction to people-pleasing, from insecurity, from looking for something from leadership that it can never give us . . . a lasting, stable sense of value.

Insight 2: My most valuable asset is time

This thought hit me like a ton of bricks. Let me explain . . . other than my relationship with Jesus and my most important human relationships including my wife Laura . . .  my most valuable asset is time. 1 Peter 1:17: “live out your time here as foreigners in reverent fear.” I don’t think Peter was advising us to live anxiously. So, what was he saying?

• To respect time. Outside of our relationship with Jesus and our most important human relationships, time is our most valuable asset. It is a shrinking asset. It is a resource we all have the same amount of each day.
• Being careful/prayerful about what we say yes to. What we say no to. No is not a curse word. Yes isn’t always the right response to a request for our time. As you age, what you say yes and no to, should evolve. It’s about answering the question, “Where can I add the most value at this stage of my life?” Living out my time here in reverent fear also means
• Being careful and prayerful about who we say yes to. To whom we say no. When I was a young leader, time seemed a limitless resource. I said “yes” to almost every request for help. As an older guy now, time feels increasingly precious. I find myself saying no more. And most of the things I’m saying no to are not bad things. They are almost always good things. But again . . . the most valuable asset outside of my relationship with Jesus and my most important human relationships is time.

Ken Groen writes: “Urgent things shout. Important things whisper. Listen to the whispers.” God usually doesn’t shout at us. Almost always, His voice is a whisper. Let God whisper to you about how to manage your most valuable assets – your walk with Him. Your marriage. Your family. And yes . . . your time.

Cheering for you,

John