Redeeming the Time
Time is a precious gift from God. To have twenty-four hours before you is an opportunity of a lifetime. In twenty-four hours or less, a soul can be won to the Lord, a strained relationship can be restored, you can take a trip to another state or country, sit for a professional exam, distribute food and clothing to those in need, do some simple exercises, celebrate a loved one, or read an inspiring book. So much can be done in twenty-four hours, yet it often looks like twenty-four hours is not enough to accomplish anything meaningful.
It’s not that we don’t have enough time on our hands, it’s that we don’t use the time we have wisely. If we want to get enough done in the twenty-four hours a day God has blessed us with, we need to identify and avoid time wasters. In Matthew 6:27, Jesus spoke of worry as a time waster when He said, ‘Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?’ Worrying can’t add a single hour to our lives. It doesn’t give us more time, rather it wastes the time we have. The time you should use for a good night rest is wasted tossing and turning or just staring into space thinking and over thinking. The time you should use to start and complete a task at work is spent pacing up and down because anxious and fearful thoughts have occupied your mind.
Living in the past is a big time waster. Some people never embrace what is in front of them because they are so busy rehashing and regretting past mistakes and failures. Disorganization is another time stealer. Think of the number of times you have been late for an event or appointment because you spent so much time looking for an invitation card, your keys, passport, a receipt or certificate. We waste precious time on unhelpful relationships, discussions that don’t add any value to our lives, and businesses that drain our resources. Not to talk of all the time we spend scrolling the internet, checking out every single picture, video, news, message or notification that we see on social media. We even waste time waiting for the ‘perfect time’. Procrastination tells us this is not a good time to call, visit, travel or submit that proposal. Before we know it, days, months and years have gone by and nothing worthwhile has been done because we were waiting for the ‘perfect time’.
Ephesians 5:16 tells us to redeem the time because the days are evil. To redeem our time is to make the best use of the time we have, it is to take advantage of every opportunity before us, it is to use our time wisely. Evil will prevail if we don’t use our time wisely. Souls will be lost if we don’t use the opportunity we have now to tell our family, friends and enemies about the salvation that is available to them through Christ Jesus. Corruption will thrive, if we don’t use our time to spread the light of Christ; to speak up against corruption and be that light in the midst of darkness that doesn’t falsify records, engage in exam malpractice, or embezzle public funds. Falsehood, strange teachings and heresies will replace truth, if we are too busy to spend time in God’s Word. Unhealthy sexual desires will grow, if we spend time on pornography.
Jesus was very intentional about how He spent His time. Acts 10:38 tells us that “Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him”. Jesus went around impacting lives, making a difference in people’s lives, being a blessing to everyone that came His way. What a wonderful way to spend your time! Jesus took time to seek the face of God to know what the Father wanted Him to do (John 14:31). He didn’t just wake up and do what was popular, He was directed by the Spirit of God per time. The way to reduce and overcome time wasters is to have Your steps directed by the Lord. That was Jesus’ secret to living wisely. A lot of time is wasted because we haven’t learnt how to be calm before God and listen to His Spirit. It is time for us to deepen our walk with the Lord, so the Holy Spirit can instruct and direct us. The Spirit of God will never direct us to a fruitless, pointless and unprofitable activity or relationship.
Peter had toiled all night and caught nothing, Peter had put in several hours of work, he did overtime work, but he had nothing to show for it, until he got an instruction from God. It was an instruction that made up for all his wasted time and effort (Luke 5:1-10). Life is too short for us to spend our limited time here on earth wandering around in circles or toiling all night and catching nothing. We need to learn how to settle our spirit and mind before God, so we can get that Word and instruction that can help us reach our goals faster. We must involve the Holy Spirit in our daily living and decision making because He has been given to us as a Helper. He wants to help us put our priorities in order and be wise stewards of the time God has blessed us with. When the Holy Spirit is the One moving, leading and carrying us, time will be well spent; we will spend our time doing things that will count for eternity.
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