We are all different, but in one area of our lives there is no difference at all. We all have 24 hours a day at our disposal — no more, no less.

Time is something that usually goes by too quickly. We work, run errands, take care of relatives and ourselves. But in the evening we often find that we have not achieved everything we set out to do. We didn’t get everything done we wanted to do and we get frustrated.

The apostle Paul admonishes us that we should be "redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16).

We should use the time wisely, yes, we know that. Are we satisfied with our use of time at the end of the day? If not, then it may be that we have planned too much for the day. Or we approached our agenda for the day too unfocused.

We should also remember that there are many more distractions today than there were decades ago: the entertainment media, the Internet, cell phones, etc. are "competing" for our time. And Satan is only too happy to see us being distracted by these diversions.

What do we think about every morning when we wake up? What are our first thoughts? Our first thoughts should be directed to our Creator at the beginning of our daily routine! A prayer or Bible study at the beginning of the day is definitely very useful, because then the day as a whole goes much better.

I know this from my own experience and also from other brethren who have also had the same experience. It does not have to be a long Bible study. For example, it can be reading one or two chapters from a book of the Bible and trying to understand what we read.

Let us thank God right at the beginning of the day for the new day He gives us. If this becomes a habit, there will certainly be fewer days that end with us being dissatisfied with our use of time.

With these thoughts I wish everyone a rewarding Sabbath!