“There just isn’t enough time in the day; so goes our common excuse. “Where did the time go, we ask. You and I are creatures of time. Even those who think they are not bound by it are; they can’t escape it. Using our time well is a constant battle. And the most important part of the battle is determining the meaning of “well. God determined our 24 hour day, but even if he gave us 36 hour days the same problem would still be there. How do we use our gift of time?
Ecclesiastes tells us that there is time for everything. I am not sure we believe that, since we feel so often that there are always things left undone. The young men who come to the Paul Anderson Youth Home do better with time than they did before because their time is managed for them by the staff, with the hope that when they are their own time managers again they will have learned time management skills. But it still comes down for all of us to the question and how we answer, “What will I do with the time which God gives me? God’s providence in your life, where he has placed you, and the responsibilities which accrue to you in your “borders, determine a lot of the time requirements to accomplish what is yours to do. You still have more time than you realize to assess its valued use so that you genuinely rest in peace of mind before God.
Though God is timeless, he still acted and acts within time. I recently read concerning God and time: “When the time was right, the sea parted, the walls fell down, the lions went hungry, the sun stood still, the star appeared, the waves were calmed, the stone was rolled away, the Lord ascended…And when the time is right, the King of Kings will return. God is never early and He’s never late—He’s always right on time and His plans for you are good. (Jeremiah 29:11) (Dayspring) God knows something about time management!
David wrote that “God is a refuge, a stronghold, in times of trouble; and he said to God, “My times are in your hands. It is true that in the management of our time our troubles lie heavy upon us. All the more reason to seek the Lord constantly; I believe it is altogether too difficult and complex to sort out what to do and what to leave undone in much of what we are faced with in circumstances and situations throughout our life. Everyone needs a time manager, and there is none better than the Lord.
What we know of Jesus’ use of time in his brief in-the-flesh life on earth from the Gospels is revealed in glimpses within the three years of his public ministry. We tend to forget that he spent almost three decades as a carpenter’s son, and a carpenter. But seeing He was without sin, how he used His time then was always well pleasing to God the Father. He did many, what we call, mundane things; He was faced with many decisions of what He would do when. The study of His life in what we do know reveal habits and priorities. In addition to His example He has sent us the Comforter, to live in us even as our troubles lie heavy on us. Why do you think the Lord calls Him the Comforter, if that is not what He is? If you are ever going to be pleased with your use of time, and be at peace before your Holy Father at the end of the day, you must inculcate calling upon Him to manage your time throughout your days; and nurturing the same habits and mind set you observe in your study of the Savior. He was incarnate among us that we might put on like a garment His way of life and His use of time. In the full scope of your existence, time is a breath of air in comparison to timeless eternity. All the more reason to make it count.
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