Is there ever enough time?
As life goes on, time itself seems to change. The days feel shorter regardless of the season, and our never-ending task list stacks up against a growing number of recreational activities. The next thing we know, we can’t do it all between waking and sleeping each day.
But there are also “time holes” we fall into—things we do without realizing we’re doing them—that eat up a lot of time and give us the impression that we have less time than what’s truly available. When we scroll through social media, watch “just one more episode”, shop, play video games, cook, or clean, we lose more time than we think. Our leisure activities, responsibilities, and the things we’re going to do for “a second” to reset our brains will cost us time.
None of these activities are inherently bad, but there can be an imbalance in how much time we devote to them. To make things more difficult, some infrastructures are designed to take up our time where our time becomes the currency of someone else’s business. This can be true from addictive apps to the layout and lighting of grocery stores—yes, grocery stores!
This week, we encourage you to take stock of how you spend time. How much time do you dedicate to activities that don’t align with your goals and desires? Could you allocate your time to more meaningful ventures? Consider how you could become more aware of your time. For example, if you spend a lot of time scrolling on your phone, use the settings to see how long you use your phone each day.
Try to approach this exercise with curiosity rather than shame—shame can encourage us to numb or escape using coping methods that also dominate our time. Ask the Lord to help you allocate your time to that which results in a healthy balance. Pray for the wisdom and strength to course correct when you’ve fallen into time holes or when you’ve prioritized spending time on less important things at the cost of what matters most.
God desires for us to live fruitful, prosperous, and peaceful lives. Time management is a part of that! So when you pray about your desire to steward time well, you can trust He will guide you toward making the most of every moment in a way that glorifies Him and that helps you be your very best!
