Don't let the Devil steal your Day

making the best use of the time, because the days are evil
(Ephesians 5:16 – ESV)

One of the things this verse is teaching us is that we need to properly exercise our discretionary time. Free time isn’t free for a slave of Christ; you don’t take time off from God (1 Corinthians 10:31). We must make the most of every opportunity. Paul challenges us to invest wisely, to be alert to all possibilities that come our way. In many versions this verse reads that we should be “redeeming the time”. The word “redeem” means “to buy up, to purchase”, or “to rescue from loss”. Think about it, rescue from loss, in other words, don’t let the devil steal your day. He is a thief and one way he steals from you is to steal your time. The word “time” used in this verse is not “chronos,” measurable in hours or minutes, but the word “kairos,” which means “opportunities” or “possibilities.” So the Bible is telling us to be “opportunity managers” (1 Peter 3:15). As we have said before if you mind your time your timing will improve.

Get rid of the time and opportunity wasters in your life. Many things in life are not necessarily wrong; they just aren’t necessary. They don’t build you up (1 Corinthians 10:23). We all need recreation and down time, but how we use our discretionary time defines who we are and what we become! Make your discretionary time useful and enriching. Learn to paint, read, or develop a musical talent, or some other new skill. You don’t have to be great at it to get an appreciation for it. You might find a new thing you love or a new purpose, one that can give glory to God and something that could change someone’s destiny somehow. How about devoting yourself to some real quality family time? This doesn’t mean simply sitting around watching TV together, that is a waste unless it is an enriching program, of which the vast majority aren’t. Train your brain or drain your brain. Those little, seemingly unimportant decisions you make every day are the reason you stay in your addiction, by the way.

Those who number their days carefully gain a wise heart (Psalm 90:12). However, it is not numbering them by the clock, but by the experience. Living requires time management, true, but not the kind that attempts to quarantine most of what makes life what it is: the mess, the surprises, the breakdowns, and the breakthroughs. Be looking for God to send someone by at the “wrong time”. Your agenda is never as important as God’s. Don’t overdo it, make the most of opportunities, but don’t be a super time manager at the expense of everything else. Plan for discretionary time, no flex time makes one an inflexible insufferable burden. Carve out time for others or they will carve your time from you.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©