Time Management

We all are forced by the stern reality of death to consider eternity seriously. When a loved one dies or a young person is taken away quickly by a tragic accident, we often ponder the end of life as we know it. Sometimes, we wonder why God spares us and takes others. Nurses and doctors, emergency workers, morticians, and soldiers in times of war often deal with death on a regular basis. If death teaches us anything, it should teach us to “number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

In one sense, man is eternal. From the moment of conception, we are endowed with an eternal destiny. We will live forever in Heaven or in hell. But man’s eternal life exists only in one direction. God’s eternal life spans from everlasting to everlasting. A mathematician could accurately describe man’s eternality as a geometric ray—beginning at a point and continuing forever in one direction. But God’s eternality is a line—having no beginning or end but continues forever in both directions.

Homes, churches, and businesses suffer when lazy and selfish men take advantage of others. The Apostle Paul directly addressed the eighth commandment in the fourth chapter of his epistle to the Ephesians. In verse 28, Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”

When a person receives Christ as his Savior, he experiences the delight of “first love” for the Lord. God’s Spirit witnesses with his spirit that he is a child of God, and this newfound relationship brings great wonder, joy, and freedom.

God wants each believer to grow in his knowledge of Him and in his understanding of His ways. He will use situations and circumstances to reveal His love for us and our need for Him. God will use disappointments, hindrances, and what seem to be “dead ends” or hopeless situations in life to motivate us to look to Him for His strength and timing for fulfilling a vision. As we wait on Him, God often works in ways that we never would have expected.

In the Book of Hebrews, Christians are warned of the danger of “coming short” of the rest that God has offered in His Word. In the Old Testament, the children of Israel who disbelieved and disobeyed God in the wilderness “came short” of reaching the Promised Land.

Even in the midst of all his military battles, he never forgot the Lord’s Day. On the evening after acquiring the nickname “Stonewall” for his brave stand at Manassas, in his tent Jackson wrote a letter to his pastor. With the letter he enclosed a check for the Sunday School class that he dearly loved. He did not mention in his missive his own heroic actions on that day.

The year is regulated by the earth’s orbit around the sun. The month is regulated by the moon’s orbit around the earth. The day is regulated by the earth’s rotation on its axis. But the week is regulated only by the pattern set by God Himself.

Orderliness is easier to maintain when we keep only those things that are needed, have a place for everything we kee, an keep things in good repair.

Even though God and others expect us to be dependable, God knows that the ability to demonstrate such a quality does not reside within us—our strength must come from Him.

Being punctual is living in harmony with the nature of God (Who is always precisely on time). It should be part of our motivation to make the best use of every minute of each day, in light of the imminent return of Christ.

Do you struggle to pray for an extended period of time without getting distracted, running out of things to say, or falling asleep? You can overcome these obstacles!