With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don't hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort. 1 Cor 15:58 (MSG)
Time is the great equalizer. Every man, even if he has nothing else, has time. Every man has the same amount. Every man spends it at the same rate.
We talk about killing time. We talk about wasting time. We talk about spending time. We talk about saving time. We talk about managing time. But time itself cannot be managed, killed, saved, or borrowed. No matter what we do, we cannot alter its flow. We cannot stop it. We cannot store it up. There is no hope of regaining what is spent.
“Nothing is as far away as one minute ago.” Jim Bishop
Because we realize this, we covet it for ourselves. We tend to horde it. We tend to be annoyed when people ask for it.
But, like everything else in life – we must ask ourselves. Whose time is it, really?
I’m convinced that this is possibly the key to our series on Lifestyle Stewardship. It may be the most important message that I preach this year. If you can relinquish ownership of time, everything else may well fall into place.
Remember the basic concept of stewardship is managing that which belongs to another. Everything belongs to God, and he entrusts me with the use and management of these things. So far in our series we have seen that:
- People belong to God. If I recognize that every relationship is God’s trust to me – my relationships will expand.
- My body belong to God. If I recognize that my body is His temple, and take care of it, I will be blessed.
And what I call my time is really not mine at all. It is God’s.
- He created it
And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day. Gen 1:3-5 (NIV)
- He ordered it
To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:… …He has made everything beautiful in its time. Eccl 3:1,11 (NKJV)
- He finished it
And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again. Eccl 3:14-15 (NLT)
- He controls it
Turns it back for Hezekiah (10 degrees) Isa 38:8
Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward." So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down. Isaiah 38:8 (NKJV)
Stops it for Joshua (about a whole day) Josh 10:13
So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. Josh 10:13 (NKJV)
All I get to do is live in it!
The greatest measure of my faith is what I do in it while it passes. I’m convinced that this is the most difficult of all tests of Lifestyle Stewardship. How am I using the time that has been given to me?
Redeeming the Time
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Eph 5:15-16 (NKJV)
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Col 4:5 (NKJV)
Redeem = exagorazo: to buy up - or - the payment of a price to recover from the power of another.
How do we “buy up” or “recover” time from the power of another? We do so by ensuring it is in the power of its rightful owner! Once again – it is as if it has been stolen. Who stole it?
- The only one that can steal from God is me
Will a man rob god? Yet you have robbed me… Mal 3:8
- Satan can steal from me
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy… John 10:10 (NIV)
Once again, the lie of the enemy comes in the form of a question; “Who is God?” In a practical sense, it is “Who owns the things in my life?” Lifestyle Stewardship says:
- There is a God, and I am not Him.
- God is the owner of all things.
- God let’s me manage His things.
- This is reflected in my priorities.
- God wants me to manage more than I am managing now.
I redeem the time when I return ownership to God. I exchange my time for His time, and accept my role as manager, not owner.
What happens when I redeem the time?
- It becomes more productive
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:8-9 (NIV)
- I reclaim even what has been wasted
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten… Joel 2:25 (NKJV)
I may not have more time – but it will be like I have more.
How do I redeem the time?
- Make sure the first and best is dedicated to God
Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them": 2 While the sun and the light, The moon and the stars, Are not darkened… 3 In the day when the keepers of the house tremble… When the grinders cease because they are few… Eccl 12:1-4 (NKJV)
Example: Fill a large jar with fist-sized rocks. Is if full? No – put in some gravel. Is if full? No – put in some sand. Is it full? No – put in some water… The point? NOT that we can always make room for more… The point is that if we don’t put the big things in first, we will never get them in.
This will result in consistency
- Trust Him with it
But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)
Does it seem like there are too many things on your list? I know there are on mine. My wife can attest to this – I consider sleep to be a necessary evil. Sometimes I get so frustrated because I just can’t keep going.
The real problem is that I have trouble trusting God with my time… I work 16 hours a day, and fuss and fume about the other 8. When the truth of it is, I can’t get my list done in 24 hours. God has to help me accomplish whatever I am to accomplish anyway, so I might as well quit worrying about it, and trust him to help me get it done in 8 or 10!
This will result in rest
- Ask Him to help you use it wisely
As with any aspect of Lifestyle Stewardship – understanding that my time is really God’s will drastically affect the way I use it.
This will result in productivity
Some Tips for using time wisely:
- Make a plan
o In finance, we call it a budget
o In time management, we call it a schedule
To fail to plan is a plan to fail. If you don’t plan your use of money, you will never have enough of it. The same goes for time – If you don’t plan your use of time, you will never have enough.
Steps to making a schedule
o Make a list of things you want to do
o Prioritize the list (which are most important?)
o Put the most important on the calendar
- Learn to say no
This is the key to success in managing – anything. Once you have a plan, there are going to be all kinds of requests for your time that aren’t on it. Learn when to say “No”.
- Carry a notepad
When you think of something that you need to do or want to do, but are not sure if it is the thing to do right now – write it down. Don’t trust your “to-do” list to your mind.
Some of you don’t trust your mind, and so you stop what you are doing and do that thing right then. If the activity that you are already involved in is important, we call this a distraction.
But when you do trust your mind to hold onto that thought – there is a lot of mental energy expended just trying to hold it. This may not be bad for that one thought, but you most likely have many of these thoughts each day. It’s like the difference between RAM and Disk space in your computer. The more you keep in RAM, the less is available for your computer to use in processing. When you write it down, you get it out of your mental RAM, freeing your mind to process other important things.
Here is the bottom line: Your priorities in life are revealed by how you spend your time. I’m just wondering how big of a priority God is?
We talk about quality time. But the adjective quality cannot substitute for the noun that it describes – time. The cold and hard truth is – our priorities in life are reflected most by the quantity and not the quality of time that we dedicate to it.
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