It’s hard to shake the feeling of failure that sweeps over me when I’m throwing away rotten, unused vegetables. I had every good intention of eating them this time, and still here I am, dumping wasted produce into the garbage.
A similar thing happens when I thaw out a pack of chicken, with the perfect recipe in mind. Then busy moments lead to busy days, and there I am again, throwing away expired food.
It’s awful! And while I don’t mean to waste food, especially when there are so many who could use it, sometimes this happens. Some innocent piece of forgotten fruit lives out its best days in the back of my fridge before heading to the trash.
This got me thinking about the speed of life. Things pass us by so quickly, even the longer seasons like pursuing careers, raising children or enjoying retirement. There’s always something we intend to get around to that, if we’re not careful, gets forgotten as the opportunity expires.
Maybe we keep saying we’ll read more books to our kids, and then before we realize it, they’re too old to want a storytime. Or maybe we keep waiting for the right time to ask for a promotion, and eventually, someone else gets the position that would’ve been a great fit.
In any situation, it never feels good to let things go to waste. It can be very disappointing and leave us with regrets. At some point, though, we have to stop beating ourselves up about it. There will be other opportunities, even if they don’t look exactly the same.
More importantly, we can take comfort in knowing God has left us with something that will never waste away. Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.”
Many moments in life will wither and fade before we get a chance to really live them the way we planned. But our time spent knowing God and learning His Word will never expire or spoil before we can use it.
Hebrews 4:12 tells us the Word of God is living and active. When we soak it in, it does a work in us! Whether or not we can see it right away, God’s Word transforms us piece by piece. There is no waste. There is no unused portion that will later be embarrassingly tossed out.
It’s one of the only things we can’t mess up! Earthly ambitions, whether good or bad, require us to plant, water and harvest without missing a beat. Think about it. Something can start off great — buying lots of produce or dreaming of a promotion — but if we never take the next step, the end result doesn’t happen within the allotted time.
With God’s Word, though, any amount we absorb blesses our lives. We can and should set goals to study more of the Bible — but thankfully, even when we fall short, the small amount we did read will still enrich us greatly.
It’s as if God knew we humans would fail at many things. He knew some of our best intentions would result in disappointment. So He gave us His Word, something that can produce fruit in us whether we read only a verse a day or go to seminary to study theology. He uses every ounce of time we invest in knowing Him, and the harvest is always beautiful.
Because He’s perfect, we don’t have to be.
Because He’s steadfast, we can stumble and get back up.
Because He’s so many things that we’re not, we can take in His Word and trust Him with the rest.
This doesn’t mean there’s no effort on our part. We should absolutely push to be more like Christ, ever seeking to align our will to His. But there’s peace in knowing that, even when we miss the mark, His Word is never wasted.
There’s no expiration date on the work God is doing in us.
God, thanks for Your unfailing Word. Thanks for being my solid rock when so many other things are finite and unreliable. Help me to grow deeper in Your life-changing Word. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
