TIME MANAGER

“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
(2 Corinthians 6: 2 NKJV)

“I don’t have time”…How many times have we heard that when looking for a volunteer? How many times has that been our response? Before we even know the amount of time that’s needed, we respond, at least within our minds, “I don’t have time.”

I don’t have time to visit family. I don’t have time to play with the kids. I don’t have time to go to Sunday school. I don’t have time talk with my spouse. I don’t have time to spend quality time with God. I simply don’t have the time! So who put me and you in charge of our time?

I learned on Valentine’s Day 2005 that God controls all my time; my time to work, my time to sleep, my time to be sick, and my time to go home! When I was rushed to the hospital for surgery, I realized I had no control over my time (the romantic dinner plans with my beautiful wife were out the window) and finally I had to admit, “Do what you want with my time Lord, because it’s really your time!” When our child cries out, all time stands still and we rush to see the cause of his cries. When our spouse or child is sick, our first desire is to find medication…get them to a doctor…get them well! When death strikes a family, the family comes together and life stands still for days, sometimes weeks. What will it take for us to see the urgency of our time? How much time are we giving to our God, who holds our time in His hand? Is He our TIME MANAGER? David learned how to properly use his time. He wrote,

"So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
(Psalm 90:12 NKJV)

It’s been my experience to ask busy people to help me if I have a project to do. Busy people work. Busy people are committed. Busy people do things! People, who do nothing, don’t have time to do anything! Have you noticed that every time something is going on, we see the same folks doing the work? Look around your church at the next function. What a shame! It’s a good time to examine our reputation around the family, around the church, and even at the job. One more important reminder though: don’t be busy just to be busy! Get busy for Christ since only what we do for Him will last. We need to join Him in His work. There is plenty to be done!

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart." (Galatians 6:7-9 NKJV)

Trust God to be our TIME MANAGER! As Luis Palau says in his book, A Man After God’s Heart, “He knows His business.”1 Now is the time to realize it and it’s time to get busy!

(Palau, Luis, A Man After God’s Heart, Discovery House, 1998)