Redeeming TimeSample

LIFE FROM THE CENTER

When you get up in the morning, you have a big choice to make: Who or what will control your time? If you don’t allow God to take control of your time, it will fall to the control of other forces, and the results are never good.

Saying no to the wrong things (which can also be good things) can feel impossible. But there is a secret to successfully redeeming time that removes the pain of saying no: say yes to God! Numbering our days and redeeming time is best done proactively. Determining the roles you have in your life is the primary way to begin ordering your life and redeeming the time. Here are the primary roles in my life that I’ve discerned God wants me to focus my time on:

• Husband/Father—Love my wife as Christ loved the church and pour wisdom into my kids.
• Leader/Pastor—Coach and develop a dynamic team that leads a prevailing church.
• Motivator/Evangelist—Deliver transformational content in the Holy Spirit’s power.
• Financial Steward—Reduce expenses and increase income so we can give generously.
• Temple Manager—Give my body the rest, nutrients, and exercise needed to fulfill my calling.

One of the biggest mistakes we make in redeeming time is looking at our life as a list. We put the most valuable things at the top. As we go down the list, we put some stuff as lesser in importance—we force ourselves to rank the value of what we do. But that’s just not how God wants us to live. Paul spoke of eating and drinking as being opportunities to glorify God (1 Cor. 10:31).

There are two ways to look at your life and roles. The first is more conventional and reflects how people prioritize their roles, elevating some and diminishing others. Most Christians always put God at the top and whatever lands nearer to the bottom will get the scraps of our attention and focused effort. I call this “life by the list.”

But if we see joining God as central to everything and all that we do as giving glory to God we will be more emotionally, mentally, and spiritually free to let the power of God flow into every role we fill. I call this “life from the center.” God is at the center, and our various roles surround our focus on Him. While we will be more focused on one role over another on certain days or during more intense seasons of focus, no role is lesser than the other. This allows us to now look at what’s most important, and that’s tapping into God’s power as we join Him in spiritual disciplines. Redeeming time now has the biblical structure and foundation needed to be applied to our lives with robust confidence.

HOW TO REDEEM TIME:

• Identify your key roles. This can be done in a couple of hours. Think in terms of where God is calling you to focus your effort. This exercise may reveal that you have too many irons in the fire or that you’ve diminished or neglected what God has called you to be. Great! That can be worked out in time. The main thing is to determine your top three to six roles and get them down on paper.
• Now, consider how much time during your week is spent investing in these key roles. Are there activities or habits taking up your time that don’t contribute to any of these things? Consider if you might need to cut back on them.

This study is adapted from the book, The 7 Resolutions: Where Self-Help Ends and God’s Power Begins by Karl Clauson. Don’t let time pass you by; learn how to redeem it for your good and God’s glory. Take The 7 Resolutions assessment to get started. https://www.7resolutions.com/assessment