Evaluating Our Time
The Busyness Series - Part 4
Time is a precious commodity, yet we often take it for granted. We fill our days with endless activities and meaningless tasks, not considering how quickly time is slipping away. Once time is spent, we’ll never get it back. It’s important to use our time wisely and intentionally.
“The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” (Psalm 90:10, KJV)
Our life is a vapor. Our days are limited. We must consider how we’re using our time while we’re here. The Lord has given us life. He has called us to Himself, and He has a purpose and a plan for our days. Busyness can distract from this purpose.
How Are You Using Your Time?
Start by making a list of how you spend your time each day. Then begin reviewing and evaluating.
What does a typical week look like? How are you spending your days? Highlight the things that are important to keep. Do you see some things that are unnecessary and that contribute to your busyness? Is your schedule packed so tightly that it doesn’t allow for any spontaneous interruptions?
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, KJV)
Being mindful of how we spend our time helps us identify areas that can be improved while eliminating unnecessary time wasters.
Who’s Controlling Your Time?
Our natural human desire is to control our time and schedule. Being in control of our schedules gives us a false sense of security and a certain level of peace because we know what to expect in the flow of our day.
But that may not be the plan God has for us today. Even when we think we are in control, it’s ultimately God who sets our course and makes our plan.
“There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.” (Proverbs 19:21, KJV)
We need to have a light grip on our time. Part of relinquishing control of our lives to God is seeking His direction in all that we do. Let Him dictate our schedules and our priorities.
To surrender to God’s control is to come to Him in prayer, seeking His guidance for our daily to-do list. As believers, we have the Holy Spirit living inside us. He convicts us when we try to go our own way. He’s that still small voice that says, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)
A Time for Rest
A schedule jam-packed with busyness leaves no time for rest. However, rest is essential to our overall well-being. It’s calming to our body, mind, and spirit. God commanded that we include a weekly time of rest.
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20:8-11, KJV)
A time of rest could look like having nothing scheduled after a certain time each evening and considering it as free time. It could be not scheduling anything besides church activities on Sunday. Enjoy the rest of the day with family or relaxing.
Scheduling time to rest allows us to stop and refresh. The idea is to break from our regular work and routines and have some time to relax. Rest is an act of trusting God and showing dependence on His ability to meet our needs. Rest is a gift from God and grows our faith and dependence on Him.
A Time for Stillness
Take time for stillness each day. Stillness is different than rest. It’s an intentional act of pausing during the day – silencing all distractions and sitting quietly for a few minutes, allowing time to rest in the moment, and perhaps listening to that still, small voice.
A good way to do this is to start your mornings in quiet stillness. This could be sitting quietly before the Lord, before or after prayer. Or you might choose to end each day being still before heading to bed.
Stillness gives us time to calm our hearts and minds. It stops the cycle of busyness in the day. Allow for time each day to slow down and be still.
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10, KJV)
A Time for Prayer
It’s important to establish a regular, daily habit of prayer. Oftentimes, we think we are too busy to pray, but days that begin with a quiet time of prayer seem to go much more smoothly and are less stressful than the days we bound out of bed and immediately tackle our to-do list.
Prayerless days cause us to worry more and usually end in stress and frustration. We foolishly believe that we can do it alone as we attempt to solve the day’s problems by ourselves, instead of starting our day with God and depending on Him for what we need throughout the day. Prayer helps us to stay close to God during the seasons of busyness.
The ability to talk directly to God is a privilege. We have the opportunity to approach the throne of God at any time, anywhere, and He’s always ready to listen to the contents of our hearts. But we often take this opportunity for granted, and we don’t think to pray until we need something.
Prayer is an avenue to grow our relationship with God and to fellowship with Him. He is not a genie in the bottle that grants our every request. He is so much more than that! He wants us to establish a relationship with Him, to talk to Him about what’s on our hearts and minds.
There isn’t one standard way to pray. There are times that you will have an organized, quiet time with the Lord, maybe using a list or a prayer outline. And there’s other times that your prayers could be more haphazard without a specific time and place.
When I was a young mother, often my prayers happened while I was doing other things as I went throughout my day. Sometimes things would come to mind as I was driving and I would immediately pray, eyes wide open as I drove, but with a heart crying out to the Father. Or I might hear a song that caused me to break out in a prayer of thanksgiving while I mopped the kitchen floor. His desire is for us to be in constant communication with Him.
“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, KJV)
When we develop a habit of regular prayer, we realize how utterly dependent we are on the Father. It helps us stay focused on God and who He is, and it encourages us to keep trusting and depending on Him each day. Prayer calms our spirit and helps us face the daily challenges with greater strength.
A Time for Bible Reading
Making time daily to read and study the Bible is essential. But oftentimes we believe the lie that we are too busy and can’t afford to spend the extra time. But really, we can’t afford not to.
When we neglect reading the Bible, we start our day unarmed for what lies ahead. There’s a greater risk of responding to situations with the wrong attitude and displaying a poor Christian testimony.
Starting our day in God’s Word sets the tone for the day. God’s Word is nourishment to our souls. We need to feed on it daily. It’s a discipline we have to develop, but the more we’re reading our Bibles, the more we are growing in our spiritual walk, and the more Christ-like we are becoming. God’s Word changes us.
God gave us His Word so that we could know Him. The Bible teaches us about His character – and ours. We see how good He is and how rotten we are, and how desperately we need a Savior. He reveals His redemption plan all throughout Scripture, and we learn of our future hope – an eternity forever with Christ. We learn how we should live and what He expects of us.
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 1:22, KJV)
We are to hear and obey the Scriptures, applying them to our lives and obeying God’s commands. But we cannot obey God’s Word if we don’t know it. We cannot know His Word if we aren’t regularly reading and studying it.
God’s Word is like food and water to the soul. We need it to survive, but it requires discipline. We must feed on His Word daily to grow our walk with Him and equip us for our life’s journey.
It’s Time to Slow Down
Busyness is common in our culture today. Everyone is busy, but that doesn’t mean it should be the norm. We need time to slow down. It’s healthy and wise to live life at a slower pace.
Don’t pack your days full of activities. Make space for rest and moments of stillness. Make time for prayer and Bible reading. Make these your top priorities and build your schedule around them. When you do, you will find the busy seasons more manageable and life much more fulfilling.
“When I put God first, God takes care of me and energizes me to do what really needs to be done.” - Dr. David Jeremiah
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Very nice one,keeps it up okay