Redeeming Time: Tips for Time Management
In Ephesians 5:16, the apostle Paul advises his readers to redeem their time. To understand this concept, we must see what it means to redeem something. Redeem means to buy back, take possession of, deliver from enslavement, or "to convert into something of value." “Act like people with good sense and not like fools. These are evil times, so make every minute count. Don’t be like ignorant people. Instead, find out what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:15–17) Contemporary English Version.
The Holy Spirit, through these divinely inspired writings, is telling us something for our special needs in a world so filled with busyness we have no time for ourselves and no real quality time for God. We need to heed Paul’s instruction to “Make every minute count.” A wise man once said, “It’s not what we have that counts, but what we do with what we have.” That’s especially true of time.
The wise King Solomon said he’d learned that the race wasn’t always won by the fastest, nor was the smartest man always wealthy because time overtakes us all (see Ecclesiates 9:11). Most successful people are successful because they’ve persevered. They’ve used their time wisely and kept on keeping on. When we realize this, we can understand what Paul means by redeeming time—turning it into something of value. You’ve heard the saying, “manage it or it will manage you.” That philosophy can apply to anything from children, to money, to job, and even, or maybe especially, to time. Two things are crucial to managing our time—setting goals and planning. Time management is basically a matter of setting goals for where you want to go and what you want to do, and then developing a plan for reaching those goals. “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll likely wind up someplace else.” Without knowing your major goal(s), you fumble around doing things that never amount to much. As Christians, our goals must be in line with God's goals for us. He will empower us to accomplish whatever He calls us to do. However, when we step out of His will (or goal) for us, we are on our own. That’s the problem for most of us, we are trying to do it all in our own power. It is important to think in terms of "making" time rather than finding time. To redeem time means to convert it into something of value. Make every minute count—for you in His will. Don’t hesitate to say, “no.” Everything someone asks you to do may not be of value to you. Take responsibility for your own time and priorities under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Remember that God is not bothered by time. The most important thing we can do to manage our time on earth is spend more time with our heavenly Father. Talk to the Lord about your time, about His goals for you, about His plans for your time, and let Him lead. Let Him help you redeem your time by converting it into something of eternal value.
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