Part 2: Our Time
We have a very interesting relationship with time. When we are young, it feels like it moves too slow. We just want to get into the future and grow up. But once we get older, time seems to move through real fast and we wish we could slow it down.
The truth is, time never changes. An hour is still sixty minutes. But our perspective of it changes based on how we use it and how much of it we perceive we have remaining. God tells us that if we honor Him with our time, He can actually give us more of it. Every breath and every moment we have on earth is a gift from God, so it truly belongs to Him to begin with. However, we have to learn how to loan that time back to Him.
Psalm 90:10 and 12, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away… So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
Here are a few practical ways to loan God your time so He can stretch it.
1. Honor God’s Word to Live Longer
Obedience brings extended days. When your time is tied to God’s ways, it does not shrink, it grows. We live healthier, happier, and more prosperous lives when we put God’s law first.
Proverbs 3:1-2, “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.”
2. Seek God First for Your Needs
Time given to God does not take away from your life; it adds to it. While most of the world spends every waking moment worrying about housing, clothing, and food, God says to put Him first and He will take care of those things. The amount of energy and time this saves you is massive.
Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
3. God Can Restore Lost Resources
In Joel 2:25, Israel had been judged by a devastating locust plague that wiped out their crops and their economy. It was a complete destruction because of their sin. But when they truly repented and turned back to God, He responded with mercy.
Joel 2:25 “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.”
Our time is wisely used getting right with God when He is judging us, rather than attempting to fix the mess ourselves. He can rebuild what was destroyed, but it is tied to a right relationship with Him.
4. God Can Extend a Man’s Life
Time is in God’s hands, not ours. When Hezekiah was facing death, he prayed and God literally added years to his life.
Isaiah 38:5, “…I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.”
5. Redeeming Time Multiplies Its Value
Time is limited and easily wasted in a world filled with distractions. Redeeming the time means “buying it up” for what matters to Him. It’s about making every part of your life count instead of letting it slip away into the “evil” of the day.
Ephesians 5:16, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
6. God Gives Strength That Outlasts Time
Waiting on God does not slow a man down, it renews him. Sometimes the best thing you can do with your time is to stop exactly where you are and wait for God to show up. It’s about going slow so you can go fast. You keep going forward as others burn out.
Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
7. Labor for God Is Never Wasted
Time spent on God’s work carries eternal weight. When you invest your time in the Lord’s business, nothing is lost and nothing is in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58, “…forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
8. Walking With God Stabilizes Life
When you delight in the Word, your life becomes rooted and steady. It’s not rushed and it’s not empty. It’s a life that stays productive over the long haul.
Psalm 1:2-3, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
Time is the one resource you can’t make more of on your own. But when you loan your minutes and your hours back to the Creator, He has a way of restoring the years, extending the days, and making your labor count for eternity.
