Time, where does it go? Is it just me or does time seem to move increasingly faster the older you get?!? You know the saying…. time flies when you are having fun. But, doesn’t time fly even when you aren’t having fun? Recently, I have been considering some things related to time. Challenging myself about the use of time, and considering God who created time and is beyond time.
Not only does time fly, but time has a way of revealing my heart. Far to often I have an overreaction to the loss of “my” time when the loss is caused by others. How does a minor infraction become such a big deal to me? Answer: By “wasting” my time. I am sure I am not alone here. Am I??
Perhaps there is nothing more revealing than the minor infraction of a person who drives 5 miles UNDER the speed limit. Don’t they know how precious my time is? Why are they in my way, killing my time!?! Why is it I become incredibly annoyed when that “other” line in the grocery store moves faster than the one I am in? Doesn’t the line know that my time is precious?!?
Recently, I was cut off in traffic by a driver who desperately wanted to arrive at the upcoming red light a car length sooner than I did. I Pharisaically thought…. that guy has patience issues!
The examples abound, don’t they? Whether it’s a delayed flight, promptness to arrive at a meeting on time, or the barista who got the order wrong and now has to take the time to redo it! Which will take another 3 minutes! My impatient heart screams at this invasion of 3 minutes!
It’s amazing to consider…. we have the same amount of time the apostle Paul, George Washington, Thomas Edison, or anyone else for that matter. From the slums of India to the wealth of the billionaire…..24 hours a day… that is what we all have been given.
The question for us today is not how do we increase the number of minutes in a day. The question is: are we making the most of the time we are given? 24 hours is what we had yesterday, and 24 hours is what we have to work with today. Yep, it will be 24 hours again tomorrow.
Thinking about God and time…..God is the owner of time:
Ultimately, time belongs to God, He created it, and I believe He is Sovereignly over my time. This means, I believe that nothing is random happen stance. It is all by God’s design for my good and growth in Godliness. If you believe that, then you will join with me in considering how time is a stewardship issue.
“The faithful leader knows that time must be measured against the backdrop of God’s eternal character and purposes. Everything humans build will one day be reduced to ruins, but our lives and our leadership will, in Christ, have eternal consequences and impact. The faithful leader lives every minute within that frame, even as he measures months and years and decades in terms of stewardship. Day by day, the leader negotiates the challenge of time, and minute by minute he senses it passing. The leader knows a time to work and a time to rest, a time to plan and a time to act, a time to read and a time to speak, a time to play and a time to fight.”
Mohler, Albert (2012-10-26). The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership That Matters (pp. 188-190). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Thinking about me and time….. It is a stewardship issue:
This means, my time is not “MY” time. If God is the owner and creator of time, and if I am a believer in Christ, then time belongs to God. All of it is His. My job then becomes how do I steward the 24 hours HE has given me today? Is this impatience towards time something I need to deal with? Or, does God want me to remain indifferent to the fruits of the Spirit?
Many of the fruits of the Spirit have time implications:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
(Galatians 5:22-23 ESV)
Read the list above slowly…. (No, really… take the TIME to read it slowly.) Did you notice how many of these fruits of having the Spirit of God in us is a right response to time? I have not spent a great deal of time considering this, but I think the most frequent lack of the fruits of the Spirit are directly reflected when our time is trampled on by someone else. That is when I am most inclined to lack love, peace, patience, etc…?
Thinking about God, me, and…. There is a season:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. The God-Given Task What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 ESV)
Stay tuned, more on “Time” and the above verse coming soon!
And…. thanks for taking the time to read this blog!
Thanks Tim! A very “timely” message!
Thanks Tim :)
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. A much needed reminder as I’m disturbed by this bronchitis that is taking up “my time” when there’s other things I need to do or rather want to do. Everything belongs to the Lord and I’m grateful for this needed heart check.
I needed that this morning.