Three steps to Redeeming your time…

Perspectives 
I  speak of perspectives quite often because as I have mentioned before, generally speaking, it is not life events themselves that affect us so dramatically, but rather our perspective of them.

That may be a challenging concept to process but if you will just consider how you may remember hearing about two people who experience the same event, yet deal with it very differently, you will see what I mean by that.

When we embrace God’s perspective of life’s events, we live a more content, healthy and joyful life.

So when considering redeeming your time in the Kingdom of God it is important to recenter yourself according to the Word and Spirit of God.

Kingdom Perspectives of time
When you are anxious for something to happen time often passes slowly.  When you are having fun, time seems to rush by way to quickly but on sleepless nights, you sometimes think that morning will never arrive.

Similarly, when you are young, you think that time stands still and you will be playing games with your friends forever.

However, when you are older, you look back at how time went so quickly.  You might reflect upon lost, misused, or perhaps stolen time thinking that “if you only had it to do over again”.  Sometimes there just never seems to be enough time.

“If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I’d like to do
Is to save every day
Till eternity passes away”

Well, those things may or may not be possible.  However, it is good to know that our time can be redeemed.

Regretting Time ill-spent
Not only did I spend several years of my life outside of the will of God, but after realizing that I then proceeded to continue in sin by spending more time regretting my previous time.  Regret of any kind has no place in the Kingdom of God; it is sin.

1 Peter 5:7 instructs us to cast our cares upon God.  When we refuse to do that we are outside of the will of God.  Rather, in faith, we are to confess our sin to Him.  When we do that He is faithful and just to forgive our sin 1 Jn. 1:9.

Once our sin is confessed we are forgiven.  At that point, by faith through the blood of Yeshua, we come boldly before the throne of grace with the confidence of a favorite son or daughter of the Most High.

If God has revealed to you that you were not a good steward of time that He has allocated you then do this in confidence and go forward, redeeming the time.

Time can be redeemed!
Almost everyone can look back and think that if they had it to do over again, they would do something differently.  However, if we look through God’s eyes, we can see that He is in control and He will forgive us for ill-spent time.  He can and will help us to move forward, making good use of future time.

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil
Ephesians 5:16

In short, Biblically, the word “redeemed ” is literally translated “bought back”.  In the context of Ephesians 5:16 the word seems to include the idea of “making the most of every opportunity” which is how some versions translate it.

The idea this verse is primarily conveying is to take advantage of the time God has given you and make the most of it.  In other words,

Maximize whatever time you have available to the glory of God.

Best laid plans…
If I were writing this from the perspective of business I would be emphasizing things like cross-platform calendars, digital reminders, and leveraging your time with time management techniques.  While those aspects may be beneficial from a secular perspective for the purpose of making money in a business, in some ways they are antithetical to functioning in the divine will of God in His Kingdom moment by moment.

Please understand, I spent many years in business and other things being a slave to the clock while trying to squeeze more seconds from every minute, more minutes from every hour, more hours from every day, more days from…… etc.   So I understand the need to manage your time well.

However,  when you allow yourself to be managed by the clock rather than being the manager of the clock, you may not miss your appointments but you will miss Kingdom appointments.

James 4:14 says “Whereas you know not what shall be done tomorrow.  For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. ” Remember; this verse in the Bible applies to everyone, not just certain individuals.

Three steps to redeeming your time
So take comfort knowing that God does “keep time in a bottle”.  He alone controls it according to His plans and purposes.  Your purpose in life is to enter into an intimate relationship with Yeshua and allow Him to manage your time.  Ask Yeshua to teach you to be led by His Spirit so that you are right on time, to do just the right thing, when and wherever you may be.

Three steps to redeeming your time:

1. Ask God to forgive you for time ill-spent.  He is faithful to forgive all sin if you genuinely ask Him to and then repent.
2. Repent.  To repent means to change your thinking, purposing to align yourself with the “mind of Christ” in every area of life.
3. Commit yourself wholly to Him with a Holy motivation and leave the rest up to Him.  It all belongs to Yeshua anyway!

Commit your works unto the LORD, and your thoughts shall be established.
Proverbs 16:3 

If you haven’t already, commit yourself wholly to Yeshua today.  You might say that He is the ultimate day planner! 

Even if you don’t think things ever really get straightened out in this life, according to how you think they should go, know that God looks upon the heart: His main subject of interest is your motivation and commitment to Him, not how “perfect” you are.

Confession: Father God, in Yeshua’s name, today I declare that in the power and authority of Yeshua, I purpose to redeem my time.  I will live every moment of every day in perfect alignment with your perfect will so that my life is a testimony to Your goodness and glory.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, I release my past, present, and future to you.  You are capable of making it whatever you want it to be and so I release them to You.  Please help me to walk in your perfect will for my life so that you can redeem my time for Your glory.  Amen!

Blessings in Yeshua, 
Parson Rayphe
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