Teach us to use wisely all the time we have (Psalm 90:12 – Contemporary English Version). Making the very most of the time [buying up
each opportunity], because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16 – Amplified). My
son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of
days and long life and peace they will add to you (Proverbs 3:1-2).
Time
is life measured out. What I do with my time determines who I am and determines
what I allow the Father to do in me and through me.
All
of us have 168 hours a week to accomplish what we value in life. I’m thinking
about this a lot now that my associate Joe has officially left my staff and
returns to the mission field this month. I have not yet chosen his replacement,
but everything must continue in the life of our church.
I
must have time for ministry, for organizational and managerial tasks, and time
for personal ministry and staff relations. I must also make time each day for
my relationship with the Father and with Jesus through the Word and in prayer.
I must also spend time with my wife and children, as well as have time for
leisure and hobbies, relaxation and rest.
Time is a commodity that I
can’t reclaim once it is wasted. I must take full advantage of each minute of
each day. And I must do this in a way that honors God and doesn’t violate His
kingdom principles of love, faith, trust, and rest.
To use wisely all the time I
have, I start by tithing a portion of my day to the Father for time in the Word
and in prayer. He’s promised me length of
days if I’ll honor the Word! I can extract more out of each minute, each
hour, and each day, and have time to spare if I’ll allow Him to be my wisdom
through the Word.
Making a list of necessary
priorities for the day keeps me focused on the important, so that the urgent
doesn’t move it out of sight. Keeping that list before me is essential to keep
my focus on what must be accomplished.
In doing this, I also make room
for the providence of God to override any plans I make. That causes me to see
interruptions to my plans as the plan
of God for my life, and that keep my attitude joyful and expectant when what I
planned doesn’t happen. Father knows
best.
He will show us how to best use
our minutes. Phone calls can often be return in the car on the way to an event.
I can listen to a CD series in the car as I commute. Wonderful times of
meditation and prayer can accompany a long commute to work or an appointment. A
chapter in a book can be read during lunch. Ask the Father how you can seize
each minute and extract blessing out of it!
Let’s give God our best efforts
to work with today. Let’s make the most of our 168 hours this week. Let’s carve
out of each day the purpose of God for our tomorrows.
0 comments:
Post a Comment