TIME MANAGEMENT
TIMING
Scripture Reference: Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)
"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven"
Do you ever wonder how people who are successful in life do it? In fact, successful people sometimes have a way of making things look easy or that they may have been dealt different odds. You may even be tempted to think they probably have more than 24 hours in the day! Of course they don’t! Even you know that!
One of the major things I have learned is that successful people manage time wisely. Eccl 3:1 reminds us that there is an opportune time for every purpose under the heavens! Psalm 90 reminds us that our lives are limited to 70 years and by reason of strength, 80 years and its pretty much spent in labor and sorrow, how accurate is that, if you are the typical adult, most of your life is spent working and you are probably making enough only to spend it on food, utilities, healthcare, children, taxes, the list goes on and on! You might even be in the category of people who somehow have managed to make enough that they have enough left to save for emergencies, big purchases and retirement. But are you making an impact? Are you living the life God meant for you? As we all know, sometimes your career may be the furthest thing from something that leaves you with a sense of purpose and yet you probably spend a minimum of 40 hours a week on this job. You may be miserable at your job and at best, tolerating your job because of the paycheck. If you are always looking forward to Friday and dread Mondays when the work week starts, are you in the position God meant for you? Moses wrote this psalm and he lived to be 120! That is the maximum God has allocated mankind to live on earth according to Genesis 6:3. Even a bowhead whale has an average lifespan longer than humans, a whopping 200 years.
The point I am trying to make is we have a limited time on earth to make a difference and that’s why in psalm 90:12 Moses prayed that God would teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
In Ephesians 5:15-17 Paul admonishes us to be careful about how we live, not as fools but as wise, not just knowing, but understanding what the will of the Lord. That is how you get a heart of wisdom. Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God has a plan for you, Prov 3:5-6, let Jim show you how to do it so you can make the most of your time. The last thing you want to do is look back after you retire and wonder how things could have turned out if maybe you stepped out in faith and did what you always loved and not worried about finances, or if you just maybe spent more time with your loved ones instead of pursuing the cooperate ladder. Don’t get me wrong, it is good to have a desire to pursue more, but it has to be put in its proper place and not at the expense of the other important things in your life.
Another important aspect of time management is planning and accountability. Planning is such a simple tool and yet makes quite an impact! It is so practical that even God uses it!
When you read the Bible, there are many scriptures that point to God through his people prophesying about different events throughout history to many nations and even to individuals that eventually came to pass. The most relatable and well-known example is all the different prophecies about Jesus throughout the Bible. You can tell through scripture that Jesus’ life from his birth to eventual resurrection was carefully planned out, it is not something that happened on a whim! That is a great example of planning on God’s part.
Amos 3:7. The NET version reads, “Certainly the Sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets”.
This verse clearly spells out that before God does anything He has thought of doing, not only does He plan it, but He has what I would call an accountability partner, His servants the prophets whom he informs of exactly what He intends to do. Just in case you are wondering, God does not need to be accountable to anyone, He is God! However, this is something in His own wisdom He has chosen to do. I believe that is an example for us. In summary: God wanted to save humanity, so he acted upon it by doing strategic things throughout history while also giving glimpses of his plan to his prophets until it came to pass. What am I trying to say; you have a dream? Great! What is your plan for bringing it to pass? A dream with no plan is wishful thinking and nothing more. To be successful at achieving your dream, you are going to have a plan and have an accountability partner to track your progress.
Still on the theme of time management, let us examine the life of Jacob. Our reference scripture will be taken from Genesis 29:1-30. I encourage you to read the story. Another part of time management is being mindful of your surroundings. Dreams do not come true in a vacuum. Besides your plan, there are factors beyond your control that you ultimately have to deal with! This includes, but is not limited; to cultural norms, laws of the land, weather patterns, economics, and so many more. Do your due diligence so you don’t end up wasting resources and time. An example would be having a plan to sell flip flops. You go get the perfect design, pay manufacturing fees and have them put in a warehouse ready for sale, but it turns out your target audience is in upstate NY in the middle of December! A very extreme example, but you get the point! Jacob did exactly the same thing. His dream was to marry Rachel and as a bride price for her, he volunteered to work for seven years. He set the terms, not Laban. When the seven years were done, he got ready to get married and the morning after his wedding night, he discovered he had instead been given Leah. He was upset. As Laban Rachel’s dad pointed out: according to the customs of the land (by the way, Jacob had lived in for at least seven years) the oldest daughter always got married before the younger. Jacob had no response! This was on him. He didn’t do his due diligence while pursuing Rachel and it cost him an extra seven years!
Time is about the only resource on earth that once gone is gone for good. The world knows this so well that movies about time travel have been made to show you how important this is. Almost everyone on their death bed wishes they had more time. Everyone gets 24 hours a day, no more, no less. Pray that God will teach you to mumber your days that you may gain a heart of wisdom.
