Guest Post by Richard Rogers. Richard writes daily posts via his Facebook page. Follow him on Facebook here.
We live in an incredibly busy world in which a seemingly endless array of demands is placed upon our limited time. Our jobs; our families; our friends; our church, civic, and community involvements; and our various personal pursuits are all competing for our time and attention. Expressions like—“too many irons in the fire,” “not enough hours in the day,” “burning the candle at both ends,” “life’s too short,” “time flies,” “life is a rat-race,” and many similar phrases alluding to the busyness and brevity of life are commonly heard from others and spoken by us. If we are not careful, the responsibilities and bustle of life can simply overwhelm us, and plunge us into dread, discouragement, and even despair. The briefness of our life makes it absolutely essential that we manage our time wisely. God wants us to be good stewards, not only of our financial assets and personal resources, but our precious fleeting time as well. Exhorting the early Christians at Ephesus to make the most of their time, the Apostle Paul advised (Ephesians 5:15-16): “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Simply put, we need to live one day at a time and make the most of it, carefully and prudently spending each passing minute.
With each new sunrise, God blesses us with a fixed amount of time that He expects and equips us to use wisely by loving and serving one another and bringing honor and glory to our Almighty Creator. Good stewardship in this area requires that we become proficient in time management. Making the most of our fleeting moments requires that we prioritize, set realistic boundaries, and focus on living in accordance with God’s plan and perfect will for our lives. In order to do that, no matter how busy our days get, we must take time or make time to spend some quiet moments in fellowship with the Lord, reading and meditating on His Word, seeking divine guidance through prayer, listening carefully as God speaks to our hearts, and responding with faithfulness and obedience as He guides us to use our time wisely and productively. The fact that one day we will all have to give an account to God on how we’ve used our allotted time here should motivate us to use it well. Our earthly life is brief indeed, but by trusting in Jesus and investing quality time in developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we have the great hope of salvation and an eternity in His presence in the paradise of heaven. Remember: “…the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:17)
