Devotional - the gift of time
"And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever." (NLT)
1 John 2:17
Do you ever wish you had more time in the day?
As a business owner, working from home, it can be challenging to fit everything in. I’ve learned that I can be very intentional about my time, planning every minute of each day, or I can be more relaxed and spontaneous, letting time unfold before me. However, experience (and a lot of prayer) has helped me to see that neither approach is ideal. Until recently, no matter what approach I tried, I still struggled to find time for the things I needed most.
What do you wish you had more time for?
Time is a gift that is very easy to squander and in the scripture, above, God is inviting us to use our time wisely.
So, let’s take a few moments and consider that. Where is your time is going?
Time is the great equalizer.
In this article in Inc. magazine, the writer speaks of “the rule of 168”, which is the total number of hours in any given week. He goes on to say:
“The happiest, most successful people... understand that time is the most precious commodity. Therefore, they do not squander it. They take the time to plan their weeks rather than allowing others to plan their week for them”.
There is no amount of money that can buy us more time, and there is no person or thing that can take time away from us. How we choose to spend our time is a decision we make, moment by moment, and it can determine the health of our relationships with our work, with others, and most importantly, with God.
A little over a week ago, I did an exercise using the “Ideal Week” philosophy. I wrote out everything I would want to be able to do in my “ideal week” (including work, projects, eating, sleeping, time with friends, etc) with the approximate time I’d want to spend on each thing. As I was compiling my list and adding up the hours, I was convinced that I would end up needing to find at least an extra 6 hours a week but, to my astonishment, even when I included all the items on my wish list, it totaled almost 168 hours exactly!
The truth is that time is God’s gift to us and if we can eliminate time-wasters from our daily life, not only can we have a more peaceful and productive life but we can return to God the first gift that He gave us: the holiness of time.
Many of our daily activities can become holy and pleasing to God simply by way of acknowledging His presence within them.
Wash the dishes with Gratitude.
Send emails with Grace.
Practice becoming aware of God’s presence with you as you walk through your day.
I realize that, in the past, I’ve spent my time on the wrong things or the wrong people, using “busyness” as a cloak to cover up my perceived inadequacies. Now, I see the importance of first taking time to pray about how to spend my time so God can speak to me. Now, I let Him lead me to become as “busy” as He needs me to be doing His work.
Let’s pray together:
Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the gift of life. Don’t let us waste it on worthless endeavors. Help us to use the time you’ve given us wisely, to spend our days on things that will last and in ways that are pleasing to you. Help us to live in the awareness of your presence and love.
In Jesus’s Name, Amen.
How will you make the most of your time, in the presence of God, today?
With love,
Tracy & Born to Fly team