Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
The above opening scripture explains that a proper appreciation and value of time will lead to better living. This means a person would spend their time on the wrong things when they lose sight of the relevance of time. Time is the period we fulfill God’s purpose on the earth. It is only in the earth realm that we have time. In eternity and the spirit realm, there’s no time. In fact, we would be judged on how we used time and what we used time for. Change is possible in the realm of time and we have the concept called growth because of time. The difference between profit and loss, for example, is not really the revenue earned. It is the time factor. We say profit was made because there is more revenue now(today) than in the past(yesterday). If there was no time, we wouldn’t be able to determine loss and profit.
In Ecclesiastes 3:1, the Bible says, To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven. The emphasis is on “a time to every purpose” meaning purpose is tied to time, and time was created for Purpose. Without purpose, there would be a waste of time or an abuse(abnormal use) of time.
So in this excerpt, we’d look at factors that influence the use of time with the acronym, T.I.M.E.
TRUST: You give your time to those you trust. Your belief system defines how you use time. If you have no belief in something, you won’t see the need to invest time in it. For instance, if you trust God, you’d have no issue spending time on the things of God. If the things of God seem boring, you haven’t yet strengthened your faith in His person. In summary, your faith influences what you spend time on. This means if I want to evaluate my use of time and ensure I’m using my time for the right things, I would have to assess my belief system.
IMPORTANCE: If something is important to you, you’ll give it time. Your to-do list is a function of what you deem important and significant to you. Everyone has what is important to them and to use time well, one would have to redefine what is important to them. A redefinition of what you see as important will rightly influence your use of time.
MEANING: The word meaning is defined as the motive or reason you have for doing anything. Another word for meaning is Purpose. Living purposefully guides your use of time. If you don’t have a purpose in view, you will have no guidelines or principles for the things you do. God’s purpose for you will determine who or what you spend time on. A person of purpose doesn’t just have any friends or go anywhere. They are influenced by that purpose in whatever choices they make.
ESTIMATION: The things you hold in high esteem take most of your time. If you want to know your estimations and values, check what takes the majority of your time. What you do with time tells us what you value and prioritize. If you hold something in high esteem, it will take a large part of your time. This means if I want to ensure I’m using time for the right things, I would have to reset my priorities.
In conclusion, from the beginning of Ephesians 5 we are admonished from the first verse to be followers of Christ and then it moves on to say we should walk in love. Then to avoid fornication, filthiness, covetousness, foolish talking, among many other things. In all of this, we are being told things to avoid spending time on. How do I know? This is because In verses 15-17, he says; See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
In other words an understanding of the will of God will influence how you use your time and he calls it redeeming the time. So actually the difference between a wise person and the fool is not intelligence or wit but how they use time. We redeem time because what the devil is after is our time. He wants to steal our time because that’s the only currency we have to make alterations and changes in our present which would eventually affect our future and eternity. The dead person has no time to make adjustments for eternity and so in Joel 2:25, the Lord says; I will restore the years that the locust has eaten– years are a measure of time. If you read verse 24 it says; And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. Wheat, wine and oil represent productivity, wealth and prosperity. But He never said I will restore those things. Those things can be recovered easily but time recovery and restoration of lost years is much more difficult. A good prayer is to ask God that if there is any choice you made in the past that stole your time, He will restore those wasted years.
The Word In Clarity 