Time Stewardship

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Let me begin by saying that I am the last person who should write this devotional. God has taught me so many principles about being a good steward of my time, and, on a good day, I implement maybe 25% of them. I always think that it should be champion who tells you how to win the fight, not the one laying knocked out on the floor. But the verse I've shared with you all numerous times still rings true - His strength remains perfect in my weakness [2 Corinthians 12:9].

We've all been made stewards of various things; money, relationships, and our physical bodies are probably the things to which you usually hear stewardship referred. We will get to these things later. But equally important is how we handle our time. Again, I admit to be the queen of procrastination. I recognized this and have prayed numerous times that God show me a way to overcome. This is what I have learned. (For here on out, I'm going to make personal references because I realize that some things apply only to myself. Feel free to implement them as you prayerfully see fit).

First, I have learned to make a schedule, and to try my hardest to stick to it. Making the schedule is not the hard part, but choosing not to deviate is. In the schedule, I need to include time for sleeping and eating, but also time for relaxation and of course spending time with friends.

This is important for the second principle. I need to recognize that not all my "free time," time that I graciously get simply when things get done faster than I accounted for, is not necessarily meant for watching TV or movies, or for hanging out with friends. Sometimes, this is the case. But I have come to realize that God gives me those extra hours to get a head start on things that I planned on leaving for tomorrow. Usually, this is because the next day I find out that the particular task will take much longer than I expected, and I find myself smacking my forehead, wondering why I went out instead of working on that paper. Here is the key: I am a woman and thus I am finite. God is God, and thus He is infinite. God, in His wonderful mercy, looks into the future and sees the obstacle that I am going to face, and He makes a way for me to prepare for that obstacle beforehand. When I am not sensitive to His leading, I ignore His warning and do what I want. On the rare occasion that I listen, I am so grateful for His urging, because I see how I would otherwise be overcome.

The third thing I have learned is one that extends to mostly to being a steward of our finances. The principle of tithes and offerings will be further explained when we discuss stewarding our money later on. For now, I will tell you that I heard the radical idea of tithing our time (giving God 2.4 hours or 2 hours and 24 minutes) to God from a pastor friend of mine. I tried it, and failed miserably. I feel so disgusted with myself, much like how I feel if I forget to tithe my money. But when I started to implement the offering side - offering here meaning giving something extra beside the tithes - I realized something important. If I give God only 2.4 hours, what am I doing with the rest of my time? Should I not be honoring God with my whole life? Don't get me wrong; we cannot spending our entire time reading Scripture and praying. We have other obligations while we live on this earth, many of which require undivided attention. But I have also learned that through it all, I can and should maintain an attitude of prayer [Colossians 4:2]. I must realize that God is ever watchful of my behavior, and I should utilize every opportunity I have to glorify Him, especially when it comes to ministering to others [Colossians 4:5]. If I allow myself to lose focus, then I will not recognize those opportunities when they present themselves. I will admit that it is exhausting to be vigilant and wary, but the rewards of such living is an incredible strength that others will perceive and be encouraged by.

Now what of the time that I do spend in prayer and reading the word? Does that still need to be tithed? I have no answer for that. I can tell you that I have tried several times to spend 2.4 hours solely in God's presence, and I find it very difficult, even on weekends. But I will share this fourth and final principle with you. It comes from Psalm 46:10, specifically the phrase "Be still." I personally try to spend time studying the Word of God and praying to God. This is critical and should not be stopped. But recently, I learned about being still. Philip Yancey, in his book Prayer Does It Really Make a Difference? speaks of when he was on a retreat where he was instructed to spend "quiet time" with God. At first it was difficult and tedious, but after a while he realized how God could speak to Him in something as simple as nature. I personally have decided to go on a sort of mental retreat once a day. Today was actually the first day I implemented this, and from it was birthed the idea for this devotional set. I have a very active mind, and so in complete honesty knew I could no more than 15 minutes of stillness and silence. Silence was the key. I would not pray, making my requests known to God. I would not even open my Bible. I wanted it to be purely just God speaking to me. Before the 15 minutes, I prayed the Lord would direct my thoughts so that I would be able to give him my whole 15 minutes, as I surrender one hundred percent. I kept my prayer journal open, and was ready to write down whatever I received. This one of the entries I wrote:

I need this 15 minutes of silence to open my mind passed the tasks for the day and the worries and the sometimes overwhelming reminders of yesterday's failures just to get where I can praise Him. And when I come to the garden alone, a wellspring of praise is on my lips that I don't need to analyze. It is beautiful.

You see, in the course of the 15 minutes, I did not allow myself to think about my tasks, but surrendered them to God. And when I was reminded of how unworthy I was to enter into His holy presence, I surrendered my failures to Him, too. About 10 minutes into it, I found myself spontaneously praising God, saying things that assured me of where I stood in my relationship with Him. And though I so desperately wanted to analyze it and take it apart, knowing that I should constantly evaluate my relationship with God and measure my growth, I also knew I didn't have to do it just then, because I would miss out on this wonderful experience. It was too beautiful to miss.

I encourage you all to implement these principles, especially the fourth. I know it's difficult, but you will have someone has prayed for you, that you will try and succeed. You will not regret it.

God bless,
Alisha