God’s View of Time (Redeeming Your Time Week 1)
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Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28—“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”—is such a text for any age, but if it ever had resonance, poignancy, and pointedness, it is our age because heaviness and weariness defines most people today. It’s when we take our eyes off God and onto our own agendas that our time gets messed up and “lost.” We think we know best on how to order our days, fill our hours and minutes, and check things off our to-do lists. While we should think about how to manage our time each day, week, month and year, we get off base when we impose our timetable onto God rather than viewing time through his eyes.
For the right perspective of time, let’s look at three important things God says about our time. First, our time is not ours. Just as we should think of our possessions and money as on loan to us from God, so is our time. Time is a gift from God. As Proverbs 27:1 reminds us, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”
Second, our time is limited. We have been given a certain amount of time here on earth for our lifetime. We have no way of knowing how long or short our lives will be. As the Psalmist says in 89:47: “Remember how short my time is!” We will be held accountable for all we do in the time he’s given us.
Third, there is a time for everything. The Creator of the universe also created a time for everything. As it says in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “For everything there is a season and a purpose for every matter under heaven.” For us, this means he has given us time and seasons to accomplish our callings and to further his kingdom.
It’s by rightly viewing all time as belonging to God that we can begin the process of redeeming our time. As believers, our desire should be to fill our time in ways that honors God and fulfills our callings. But first, we must resist “The Allure of Busyness,” which is the topic of our next lesson.
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Samuli Vainionpää
