In today’s world, everybody is busy.
Our schedules are jam-packed with staff meetings, conference calls, and working lunches. At home, there is a pile of laundry you forgot to fold, and a list of bills to pay. If you’re pursuing higher education, reading assignments and papers demand your time and attention.
Let’s not even talk about your to-do list! It seems that every time you cross off one task, three more to-dos magically appear in its place. And just when our mind thinks it can rest, politics and daily news headlines flood our thoughts.
With all of this going on, I really feel the need to let you in on a little secret…
{Come closer, hear me whisper}
The enemy is after your faith.
This is serious.
THE ENEMY IS AFTER OUR FAITH!
Our Faith is Allergic to Busy-ness
For the purpose of this discussion, faith is the belief in the powers and the abilities of God. The Word of the Lord in Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
Our faith is built up when we read the Word of God out loud and it is heard by our own ears. If the enemy can steal my time with God, then I cannot hear God clearly. If we spend enough time away from God, eventually we won’t hear him at all.
But wait a minute. With all that’s going on in the world, and all that you have going on in your life, when exactly are you going to have time to pay attention to the Word of God?
Here is where the problem is: The enemy would have us believe that we don’t have time to spend in God’s Word!
Intellectually, we know that we should do it, and we genuinely have good intentions. As our day slips away, we rationalize and make excuses. We actually think that we’ll get around to reading our Bibles and spending time with God later – after our day settles down, after the kids are asleep, and after we’ve had time to unwind.
How often do we achieve our good intentions?
It’s a Matter of Time Management
Here’s the thing – we don’t own time. Time belongs to God!
Day in and day out, God graciously and faithfully dispenses time to us in increments of 86,400 seconds; that translates into twenty-four hours.
God hands over His commodity called Time for us to manage. As the Owner of Time, He trusts us to use it wisely. We are held responsible for what we do (or don’t do) with time we’ve been given.
Now, allow me to reveal one of the enemy’s tactics for embezzling time.
It happens very early in the morning when we first wake up. Instead of spending time in the Word, we log into our work or personal email. We tell ourselves that it will be a quick check-in so that we will know how to plan our day. We rationalize that it will only be a few minutes.
Then, we check our Instagram or Facebook accounts. We tell ourselves that we are only going to scan our news feed. Don’t forget about Periscope and Twitter! We must stay abreast of the latest videos and trending topics.
The enemy does not have the right to steal from us. When we allow ourselves to get distracted, we willingly surrender time to him!
We slowly lose the time God has given us. As we lose time, we are, in essence, allowing our very lives to slip away.
Don’t Fall for the Oldest Tricks in the Book
John 10:10 says that the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. This scripture clearly reveals the enemy’s intent –
Steal: to move secretly, to take from another without right or authority.
Kill: to deprive of life
Destroy: to ruin completely, to make ineffective
The enemy wants to move in and secretly take time from you. He’d like you to think that neglecting to spend time in the Word of God is no big deal.
It is a very big deal! How big?
Again, if faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17), and hearing by the word of God:
If we are not spending time in God’s word, our belief in his ability to hear our prayer and work on our behalf slowly dies.
When we’re not confident that God can hear us, how often will we pray?
If we’re unsure of His power and ability, then we are doubters, and the enemy’s tricks have caused us to become “unbelieving-believers”.
The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God.
So, not only has the enemy stolen your time and weakened your faith, he has also put you in a position where you cannot please God.
But wait a minute, all hope is not lost! Here’s what you can do to get back on track.
So, what’s the play call?
- Come clean to God and admit that you have been distracted. Own up to the fact that you have fallen for the enemy’s tactic and have wasted time. You are not alone in this! If we are transparent, we all have done it!
- Pray and ask God for His forgiveness. The Word of the Lord says in 1 John 1:9 that God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- Make a commitment to putting God first on your schedule. The Word of the Lord in Matthew 6:33 encourages us to seek God’s kingdom first.
- Read the promises of God out loud over yourself, and watch your confidence in God grow! Don’t know where to start? Here’s a free e-book with 365 promises of God you can read aloud every day.
- Start NOW. Go!
What are some of your time management tips?
How do you spend time with God?
Yes! I would like prayer. Please pray for me.
