One day while I was waiting for a traffic light to change, I noticed how everyone seemed to be rushing in so many different directions. We were all so busy that it seemed like we were living on edge. The same thing occurred while I was sitting at an airport. I noticed how most of us were rushing; one lady was just pulling her son along while he was screaming to the top of his lungs. There were planes all going in different directions with their engines ready to go. It seems like time was giving us a whipping and we were all dying to please it.
How do we plan to use the time the Lord provides us this year (James 4:13-15; Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)? Will we allow time to control us or our purpose in life to determine how we manage ourselves in time? I know it is hard sometimes with all the demands on us. Are our demands being created by our giftedness, purpose, or ambitions? What is keeping us so busy and stressed? I am not saying we should relax and do our best to do nothing because the Bible states that would lead to poverty (Proverbs 6:6-11; 10:4) and with the church of Laodicea, Christ was not happy (Revelation 3:14-18). The focus we should have is what do we need to do to manage ourselves in God’s time zone? After all, Christ says; “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34; NASU)
The Lord has graciously provided us families, whether single parent homes, extended families, or nuclear families. God provided us with talents in order to successfully apply ourselves to a job so that we are able to take care of our physical needs (Ecclesiastes 4:12-13). The Lord has blessed us with a spiritual gift so that His church can effectively execute His agenda (1 Peter 4:7-11). This is probably why Christ says in Hebrews the race to run is not the rat race it is a race that He sets before us (Hebrews 12:1-3; remember chapter 11). He is also saying to us that He “has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness ………” (2 Peter 1:3-4). So, we have a race to run with a script (the Word) that is a light unto our path (1 John 1:5-7; Psalm 119:105). Light meaning a clear direction that preserves us from mistakes and makes us productive (2 Peter 1:3-11; John 16:1).
When we plan to go to work, we know exactly what it would take to be on time. We realize what can make us late, so we take precautions. As a result, we manage ourselves to achieve our objective. Covid hopefully taught us that the time God provides us is precious. So, this year let’s allow our purpose to direct how we use the time God provides.