USE THE TIME THAT YOU HAVE WISELY
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“See then that you walk
circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days
are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord
is.”—Ephesians 5:15-17
All of us,
both women and men, are very familiar with busyness. It seems as though our lives are governed by
time. When was the last time
someone told you they did not have enough to do? A lot
of people connect significance with busyness, and most of us either boast or
complain about how busy we are. The
reality is that God has given us enough time to do exactly what He has planned
for our lives. The bigger issue is whether
we are using our time to do our will or the Lord’s.
Time is a gift from God, and He
has allotted each of us as measure in which to live and to accomplish His
purposes. We have only two options—to spend
it temporally on our own interest or invest it eternally, “For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we
should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Since
time can never be retrieved or reversed, it is critical that we make the
most of every opportunity that the Lord provides.
The key to
investing in eternity is following God’s plan for your life, not just filling
your days with activities. Jesus was allocated
just thirty-three years of life on earth; the majority of His life was spent in
preparation with only the last three spent in fulfilling His Messianic ministry. To us this may seem like a very short time;
but He was able to accomplish everything His Father gave Him to do. That is why on the cross He could say, “It is finished” (John 19:30).
Are you
willing to honestly ask yourself this question: Am I busy for the right
reasons? Make it a matter of prayer; write
all your commitments and responsibilities on paper, and then one by one ask God
“Is
this one of the good works you put me here to do?” That is how we get serious about doing God’s
will and ridding our schedules of the things that God never intended for us to
do.
Prayer—Father I thank You for the good works
that You have given me to do. I ask You
to help me prioritize those works that You have given me to do so that I can
use my time wisely and efficiently, in Jesus Name. Amen.
