Daily Digest: Capstone Capsule

“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” – Psalm 90:12

God liberally supplies Wisdom and Grace for the IMPACTFUL STEWARDSHIP of TIME: “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psa.90:12). This dimension of Divine Wisdom includes: appreciating the Value of Time and cultivating scriptural attitudes to time. One universal complaint among human beings, is lack of time; but “are there not twelve hours in the day” (Jh.11:9). Humanity’s problem is not lack of time, but inability to properly manage and effectively utilize the available hours to achieve all we desire to do daily or weekly.

Rather than complain about lack of time, we’re admonished to learn to redeem the time because the days are evil (Eph.5:16). “…Time is short…” (1Cor.7:29). We must learn how to possess and repossess time. Time is life (vv.9-12). To waste time is to destroy part of one’s life. Sir Walter Scott said: “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander TIME, for that’s the stuff life is made of.” Time is a scarce resource; and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed. According to Dr. Anthony D. Souza: “Time cannot be saved for a rainy day, or accumulated like raw materials. People turn machines on and off. They replace workers... not Time. Time continues its march at a fixed rate of sixty minutes per hour, twenty-four hours per day...”

In addition to its scarcity, time is costly; it is indeed one of our most valuable assets. Little wonder, Satan, like Sanballat and his allies, tries to intrude into our portions of time with carnal interruptions and demonic distractions (Neh.6: 1-4). Time is no respecter of persons. How we spend time determines how effectively other resources at our disposal will be used. The thief of goods and gold is not half so destructive as the thief of Time. A wise man said: “The great dividing between Success and Failure can be expressed in these words: ‘I don’t have time.’” To a dying man and his relatives, each minute is very precious.

Time is God’s Gift that’s uniformly and sufficiently given to all – 24 hours per person. So, it is not the time we have, but the time we spend wisely and use effectively that matters. There is enough time every day to do all that God wants us to do if we would learn to redeem time by walking circumspectly and in wisdom (Eph.5:17). This implies an intimate daily walk with God: “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time” (Col.4:5). We may sometimes need to fight for time. In so doing, we would be fighting for life. Every day that has gone unused often requires struggle to regain, and certainly cannot be relived. Available time is different from effective time, and part of our task is to convert available time into effective time.