Making every heart beat count

In Acts 17:24-25 we read;


The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. (Acts 17:24-25)

This is part of the Apostle Paul's sermon to pagan philosophers.

The thing is this verse tells us that God gives me my life and breath. I take that to mean that, at the very least, God makes my heart beat and puts breath in my lungs. Every heartbeat, every breath is a gift from God to me.

The question is what am I going to do with each heartbeat God gives to me?

I could use 8400 of them to watch a 2 hour film that has scenes in it which dishonour God. (Assuming my heart beat is about 70 beats/minute). Or I could use 13 of them for 15 seconds of angry out burst at a motorist, made in God's image, who has just cut me up at the lights. And then use another 700 beats as I complain about him for the next 10 minutes to my family. Of course, because I'm angry, my heart will be beating faster and so I will be using far more of these precious gifts from God for things that don't bring him glory.

The other alternative is to seek, by God's grace, to use every heartbeat for the glory of God. I could spend 8400 of them meditating on God as he is revealed in scripture and standing in awe of him. I could use 700 beats to tell my family how awesome God is. I could use 13 of them to make a kind comment to a member at church. I could use 2100 of them to write a blog post encouraging people to use their heartbeats for the glory of God!

Whatever we do with these precious heartbeats from God we need to make everyone of them count for his glory. That's why he gives them.