We shall consider some principles that will enable you to make your time count. The first of them is, “Number your days,” Psa. 90:12. Your time on earth is short, so, you need to treat it with care if you must make it count.
Time is a limited resource and it can run out of stock. There are only 24 hours each day for us to work, sleep, play, pray and worship, enjoy our families and friends and also, to pursue our personal projects. Each person gets the same amount of time each day; it is what we do with our time that differs. Psa 39:4 says: “Lord show me what my end will be and help me to know how short my time is.” Our days on earth are limited and, so, every hour counts. The minimum time ordained by God for a man on earth is 70 years, which is about 25,000 days. By wisdom and understanding of the scripture, however, you can lengthen your days to 120 years or more. That may seem like a lot, but compared to eternity, it is but a breath. You must learn how to number your days.
I will never forget the story of a young man in one of our fellowship group some years ago. He was highly skilled in his vocation and a gifted singer whose ministry had blessed lives. Sadly, he was a liar and lacked self-discipline and was living in immorality. He had been warned and even disciplined several times to desist from such act, but he would stop and continue after a while. At a time, he deceived everyone that he was travelling for a ministration in his community only to discover he was camping with girls. He was involved in a fight with another male lover of one of such girls and he was badly wounded and hospitalised. He could not survive from the effect of the injuries and so he died after a few days. Report that reached us said before he passed on, he kept saying that he was running out of time. Those were his last words and a skillful, talented young man in his 30s wasted away just like that.
The second principle that will enable you to make your time count is “Manage your time well.” Ecc 3:1-4, 11 says that there is a time for everything in life. You must, therefore, be intentional with time. Allocate time to everything and don’t use the time for serving God to play or even work. Learn to turn your minutes to memories and your moments to milestone. Moments refer to the intensity of what happens to you within a particular period. You need wisdom to match the right activities to the right time. In all that you do, make the things of God’s kingdom your priority, Matt 6:33. There are certain dimensions of success that you cannot reach without the help of God. Others may use negative powers to climb, but it cannot sustain them; you can only get your balance in God. Manage your time in relation to productivity and relationship. There is a time to work hard and a time to rest. There is a time to focus on project and a time to focus on people.
• Rev. John Okene, Divine Touch Int’l Ministries, Warri, Delta State. dtimchurch@gmail.com. Prayer line: +2348135952623
