How many of you today has ever said “There isn’t enough time in the day to get things done!”
Have you ever thought about how much time we spend in our daily lives?Time in doing things that are obviously precious to us and good, but also How precious our time on earth really is, to ourselves and even those who care about us.
As scripture tells us, God designed our days on this earth as a precious gift, to be lived wisely and according to his will. In titling todays sermon “I Just Don’t Have Time,” I found it hard to swallow just how difficult it is for me, not spending my time wisely as I should. I am in the same boat.
So in thinking about it, what grabs our attention in our lives most? Entertainment, thrills, drama, or just simple distractions. Each of us handle our time differently don’t we?
If I was to say, God has a purpose and plan for you all the while staying in consistant communication with God, how would that fit the truth about your time managing skills?
Let me give you some interesting stastics about areas of our life which time is of the essence. In an average lifetime, a person spends 229,961 hours sleeping, over 32,000 hours eating, over 37,000 hours driving, over 90,000 hours working, over 28,000 hours surfing the internet, over 63 plus times a day looking at our phones & over 80,000 hours watching television, which calculated about 85 hours a month.
And those are just some of the top listings I found. Not to mention the hours taking care of children or other people in your life, taking care of yourself in general, doing finances, grocery shopping, practicing hobbies; and even amongst the minutes of a day, where we do things that are not so Christian like; and the list goes on!
Here is another philosophy that is rather interesting. If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,000 that did NOT carry over from day to day...You was not Allowed to keep cash, and every evening the remaing amount you did NOT spend was zero’d out and cancelled, what would you do? For most, you would Draw out every cent every day, and use it to your advantage! Well, you have such a bank, and its name is TIME! Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off as lost whatever of this you failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balances, it allows no overdrafts. Each day it opens a new account with you. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against tomorrow.
In todays reading from Gospel of John, we read just how important it is to live this busy life with Christ as important it is to live for Christ.
Christ is directly saying here how when we feed off of him, not literally of course, we learn that he will sustain us forever. For some, this is not a easy concept to do especially when time is involved. Time that we need to take in learning of God and living for God.
Without time, we would not be able to do anything. We wake up with it, sleep with it, and if not careful, it will slip away without even noticing. Yet, it can never, ever, be harnessed or returned once its left us. Scripture tells us Life is but a vapor! Its here, then its gone! Just like the time we have! Here is a quote “Always remember, when you kill time, there is no resurrection!”
But Why spend time with God in our busy life? I would have to say WHY NOT?
Rev. Billy Graham stated this, “Think of a human friendship: How do we grow closer to someone on a human level? The most important way is by spending time with them—talking with them, listening to them, sharing your concerns with each other, and even helping them when they need our help. And the same is true with God. When we read or hear His Word, the Bible, He speaks to us. When we pray, we speak to Him. And when we worship Him and obey Him, we are doing His will and participating in His work.”
First and foremost, it is God's spirit and desire for us to spend quality time with him; obviously to build the relationship with his children. He wants to hear from us, talk to him, and give us the Love and support we need to live peacefully and joyfully in this fallen world. But in addition, it helps us grow in Gods light and spirit. IF there is any time better than to get direction from God during our busy life, it is today! Because tomorrow is NOT PROMISED!
How can we grow if we don’t spend time with God? How can we grow when we do not sacrifice a little slice of our time to build on a foundation that will sustain us forever? How can we learn to Love and have Faith if we shorten our time with God by cheating ourselves from what he has already the best plan for us? Joyce Meyer said this in one of her videos, “Your not doing God a favor by reading his word. You are improving yourself!” Is that enough, or do you need more? How much effort should we make to seeking out, communicating and asking Gods guidance.
When James Garfield, later to become President of the United States, was principal of Hiram College in Ohio, one father asked him if the course of his studies could not be shortened so that his son might be able to complete his studies in less time. “Certainly,” Garfield replied. “But it all depends on what you want to make of your boy. When God wants to make an oak, he takes one hundred years. When he wants to make a squash, he requires only two months.”
Just how thirsty are we for God?
There is a oak ridge boys song that goes “Dig a little deeper in the well.” I tend to think of that song as the further I dig in the well, the more water I will find to quench my thirst!
Do we do enough just to get by? When scripture tells us to “Love the Lord with all our Heart, Soul and Mind,” that should really state the obvious. The more we spend time with Him, the more we become like Him.
As quoted in the Interpreters Bible, “The will of the Lord is not limited to a call to practices which can be labeled as religious. The will of the Lord applies to each one of us where we are. In every business transaction, in the theater, on the golf course, or in the little courtesies of the street corner. No occasion is too insignificant for redeeming the time, which is precious and God takes very seriously.”
Friends, with the truest words I can muster, we will find the secret of happiness and holiness in fellowship with Jesus each day. Each day to read and study his word, to be in prayer and separate ourselves from the world to focus on him.
Our heart will long for the hour of prayer as the best hour of the day. As we will learn to take time to be alone with Him each day, we will experience His presence, enabling us to love Him, serve Him, and walk in His ways throughout the day. Through this unbroken fellowship, we will learn the secret of the power of a truly godly life.
If we desire to live this life of fellowship with Christ, if we wish to enjoy this blessed experience each day, then we need to learn the lesson of spending time each day, without exception, in fellowship with our Lord. In this way, your inner man will be renewed from day to day.
In closing, I wanted to leave you with this food for thought!
Scripture tells us clearly “Where our treasures is, there our hearts will be also.”
What takes precedence in our lives? What takes Priority? What takes most or more of our time instead of spending it with God?
Friends, each one of us totally understand what a busy life means in todays world! Honestly, time is never an easily managed item, especially when life throws us curve balls and events, especially when they are unexpected.
But remember, when we put Christ first, we will never be alone, we will always have the strength needed to succeed and conqueror, all because in our weaknesses, Christ's power is made perfect or complete!
Here is a quote from Benjamin Franklin, “Do you love life? Then do not waste your time, for it is the stuff life is made of.”
When we have an opportunity to attend bible study, to fellowship, to serve God, we should greatly consider participating!
Some of us will probably gritt their teeth when giving up something that has become treasured in their life, to then make time for God. For some its call a ‘habit’ but to God its called Life Everlasting!
For most of us, there will need to be a sacrifice of our time to make time for Him. But just think of all the benefits, Love, Faith and so much more God gives to his children that earnestly want to seek him and spend that awesome time with him. Remember, we cannot live this life for someone else! WE and WE alone are responsible for our actions and what we do with our efforts!
Don’t let the only time we spend with God be in times of despair and need! It should mean much more than that! In every aspect of who we are, it should include how fervent we have become to seeking and knowing our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ!
Spending time with God will result in something that some people would find strange, or even weird. Its called LOVE!
Listen to Epistle of Ephesians:
… be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father.
Does that sound pleasant and reassuring? It should! Think of it, when we stay focused on Christ, that is all that matters most!
Amen