Making the Most of Every Minute

How quickly the hours seem to slip away! I know there are 24 of them, but each day seems to pass quicker than the day before! The busyness of it all makes it tough to fit everything in! It’s in the midst of attempting to get it all accomplished that I’ve been thinking of the value of the time we seem to have so little of!

I was challenged by a verse that is part of the incredible description of the Proverbs 31 woman. We are told in verse 27 that this virtuous woman “eateth not the bread of idleness!” She is one that realized how precious time is and responded accordingly!

The “bread of idleness”is all too easy to eat, but the Lord has kept this topic fresh on my mind today. The Apostle Paul’s admoniton to the Ephesians to be “redeeming the time” (Ephesians 5:26) has been on my heart, convicting me of time wasted and time waiting to be redeemed! The Greek meaning of this word sheds such light on what we truly should be striving to do with the gift of time we’re given. “Redeeming” comes from the word exagorazo meaning to buy up, ransom, and to rescue from loss!

I think of the minutes that slip by while I’m occupied with meaningless activity or so busy with tasks that are necessary that I fail to “rescue it from loss.” I have been challenged to use the time God gives me for His glory in a greater way! After all “my times are in (His) hands.” (Psalm 31:15) The time belongs to Him, and He gives me the day and the hours it holds that I might give it back to Him.

As summer approaches and I seek to plan accordingly that I might be efficient and effective, I am so aware of my aptness to go through an entire day before realizing I’ve yet to accomplish anything of spiritual significance! It is the prayer of my heart that God will enable me to treasure His gift enough to “rescue it from loss!” I pray that I will frequently evaluate where my time or rather His time is going and seek to “ransom” it from all of the fruitless things it can all too easily be spent on. 

It’s interesting to me that Paul uses the word “redeem” in relation to time management when it’s a word that God Himself used to describe His renewed relationship with Israel in Isaiah 43:1. Though the word “redeem” in this verse comes from a Hebrew word, it also means to “buy back, purchase,and ransom.”  My God redeemed me for a reason! He “redeemed” me so that I would no longer serve Satan, sin, or self! When wasting time, I am again serving all three, but  He desires that I live for Him, making the most of every minute!

“Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep, and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.” Proverbs 19:15