Savage2Saint Sobriety July 8, 2026

¹⁵ So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. ¹⁶ Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. ¹⁷ Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. - Ephesians 5:15-17 (NLT).

Some days we're on time; Other days we have time off. We can be just in the nick of time, if we're not already out of time. There's doing time, which can feel like a waste of time, unless you're making the most of your time, and then you might be eligible for some good time. There's remembering the fun times and there's times we wish we could just forget. Time has a funny way of getting away from us. One minute we're playing Little League baseball and the next we're teaching our kids how to drive.

I've often wondered how my life would have turned out if I had straightened up and started living for God earlier. Not the one foot in and one foot out way I had always tried in the past but completely sold out for Jesus; All in; Holding nothing from Him. Looking back, there are obvious times when God's hand was on my life, but there have also been times when I couldn't feel Him at all. Why would the God who holds the whole world in His hands, let so many bad things happen to someone? Years lost to addiction; Losing loved ones; Relationships of abuse that led to being the abuser. Where was God during those times? Why would He abandon me? The answer is He didn't.

God wasn't absent in my life; I was the one absent in my life. I was absent in my kids' lives; I was absent in my loved ones' lives. The only one who wasn't showing up for me was me. I took the easy way out by drowning myself in drugs and alcohol. There's a clarity that comes from seeing your life shattered into a million pieces. I finally realized I couldn't do it on my own, but God could if I gave Him all the pieces. When you start living life under the authority of God's perfect timing, you will see that He's never left you, He's just been patiently waiting for you to notice that He's always been there.

We can't turn back time, and we don't get another chance at this life, so like this week's verses say: Be careful, make the most of every opportunity, think about what you're doing, and walk in God's will for your life. We all have plenty of time to make more mistakes, but none of us are guaranteed the time to correct them. We can't change our yesterdays, but we can change all of our tomorrows by handing our lives over to Jesus today. For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you.    On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. - 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NLT). God Bless!