Redeemed Time and the Back Half of the Race

There are moments in life when the calendar stops being theoretical. For me, that moment came at 45 — with a heart attack, open-heart surgery, and the sudden realization that the number of my days is not an abstract doctrine. It is a stewardship. When you come that close to the edge, you stop talking about “someday.” You start asking yourself, I wonder if today will be the day, and you think about what you’re doing with the time you’ve been given, what actually matters, and what will outlive you.

That experience didn’t make me fearful — it made me focused. Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom,” and numbering your days is not about counting how many you have left — it’s about making the ones you have count for what is eternal.

Most of us live as if life is in the first quarter. We assume there will be more time — more time to get serious about the Great Commission, more time to use our gifts, more time to say yes to what God is calling us to do. But the truth is, for many of us, we’re in the second half. And that changes how you run the race. You don’t coast in the second half — you run with purpose.

That’s why I’m all in on Fight for Joy, Bible teaching, missions, and gospel-centered content that will still be speaking after I’m gone — not because I’m trying to build a platform, but because I want to spend the rest of my race on what matters most. When you’ve been given more time than you almost had, you don’t waste it. Every video, every sermon, every mission opportunity, every conversation about Christ becomes an investment in eternity.

Ephesians 5:16 tells us to be “making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” That phrase “making the most” literally means buying it back — redeeming it. You can’t get your past back, but you can redeem what remains. And the back half of the race can be the strongest part of your life.

My goal is not to live as long as possible. My goal is to be faithful for as long as I live — to finish well, to keep fighting for joy, to keep preaching the gospel, and to keep investing in what is eternal. Because when the race is over, the only thing that will matter is this: did we spend our lives on Christ and His kingdom?