Using Your Time Wisely, Part 1
“Make the best use of your time ….”
Ephesians 5:16a (Ph)
You have just three opportunities when it comes to the limited time in your life – You can waste it, spend it, or invest it. The Psalmist prayed, “Teach us to use wisely all the time we have.” Psalm 90:12 (CEV). While multi-tasking has become popular, studies have shown that multi-taskers are really suckers for irrelevancy. Imagine a pilot or surgeon multi-tasking for a minute! How would you feel paying a consultant, and while he is consulting you, he’s texting and checking on his fantasy football team or shuffling through papers for his next client? The secret to a fulfilled life is focus, not multi-tasking. God wants us to use our time wisely because our time represents our lives. Whatever you spend your time on, you’re giving your life to, and when your schedule gets crowded, your priorities get clouded. Bottom line: waste your time – waste your life!
In Ephesians 5:15-17 (Ph), the Bible says, “Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do. Make the best use of your time, despite all the difficulties of these days. Don’t be vague but firmly grasp what you know to be the will of God.”
If I’m going to make the best use of my time, I must firmly grasp what I know to be the will of God. I’ve been giving this more thought as I grow older, and I want to share some insights I’m gleaning from God’s Word that have helped me to make better use of the limited time I have. For the next few days, I want to share four questions that have helped me focus on how I use my time more wisely, and I pray it will encourage you as well. Before committing your time to anyone or anything, ask yourself these questions:
First: Is it worth my life? This is the principle of priority. It comes from the first part of this passage in Ephesians 5:15, “Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning and purpose of life, but as those who do.” As Christ followers we understand the meaning and purpose of life and are to live our lives with a due sense of responsibility to share that with those who have never experienced Christ and His love for them. To those without Christ, Jesus asked, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mark 8:36-37 (NKJV). This is the real question at the heart of time management. What are you giving in exchange for your life? This is a question worth some thought and prayer before we look at the next one. Is what you are spending your time on worth your life?
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.