In James 4:14, our lives are described as “a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”
There are not enough hours in a day to do everything. There are not enough years in your life to live for everything. There is not enough blood in your veins to bleed for everything. That’s why it is so important that you choose your battles wisely, don’t get distracted and sacrifice what is “best” on the altar of what is “good.”
In 1 Corinthians 9:24, Paul encourages us to run the race of our lives “that you may obtain it.” A person who is running to win sets his eyes on the finish line and goes for it with all his might. A person who is running to win has made a choice to lay down everything else for the sake of the prize.
Reinhard Bonnke once told me the story of how a newspaper had spread vicious lies about him. His friends, jealous for his reputation, urged him to respond. But when he prayed, the Lord spoke to him and said, “You are My harvest worker. Don’t stop the combine harvester just to catch a mouse!”
There are a lot of good battles out there to fight, and the devil would be happy if you would get involved in every one of them, because if he can keep you distracted chasing mice, he can rob you of your harvest. John Maxwell wrote, “At age 60, I now look back at my youth and I cringe at my naïveté. My toolbox of experience had only one tool in it: a hammer. If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. So I pounded and pounded. I fought many battles I shouldn’t have.”
