Throwing out my calendar....
Speaking of saying no...
Isn't it true that we all have the same amount of time each day?
If I am correct, we all have 24 hours in each day.
The matter at hand is how we spend this precious time.
Often, we view time as just minutes ticking on a clock. We view time as slots on our already over-loaded calendars. Sometimes when I hear of an upcoming event, my stomach goes into knots. ANOTHER thing to add to our family calendar.
When we view time as minutes, hours, and dates, we miss out on the purpose of this scripture, "My times are in Your hands", psalm 31:5.
The psalmist here acknowledges his complete and utter dependence on the Lord's time for him. He knows that although we run our lives by the clocks on our walls, microwaves, and more importantly our Iphones, we are not the one who is really in charge of our time. God is.
God has a purpose for every second we spend here on earth. Incredible, huh?
As I was folding my children's clothes about 20 minutes ago before sitting down to write this post, I thought, "Lord, this is part of my appointed time for the day, right? Even this minimal task of folding clothes is part of the day You have prepared for me."
It seems so menial, so small, and so unimportant.
But, it's not.
Even these small tasks, make up part of our time on earth. And, if you are like me, if you have a HEAP of laundry, it adds up to a substantial time!
There is many a day, probably too many, I get behind on my housework. When this happens, my house feels like it is turned upside down. I am grumpy. The kids are grumpy, and Lem is grumpy because he has no clean underwear. Umm, check the dirty clothes hamper, honey.
This shows me that taking the time out of my day to prepare for my family's needs is important. It keeps my family rolling along and without the added stress of no clean underwear in sight.
I find myself praying often, "Lord, there is so much to do! I have so many plans! I want to serve you, Lord! Please make the most of my time here! Do I really have to stay home and cook and do laundry? I want to go out and serve!!"
When I get in this mode, I am always reminded of Jesus.
He only spent 3 years in full time ministry. THREE years, yall!
There was SO MUCH TO DO.
How did He sort it all out? What did His calendar look like? How did He know when to stop in a town and when to move on?
I think we have the answer.
He knew that His times were in God's hands.
Can you imagine the demands on Jesus' time? He could not go anywhere without someone begging for a touch, a healing, a miracle. He could not escape the crowds. In fact, scripture tells us that many times He rose early in the morning to go to a solitary place to pray.[Luke 4:16] [Mark 1:35] He fervently sought His instructions and assignments from the Father.
We also know that Jesus did not have a wife or children. His life was devoted and purposed for full-time ministry.
When we have spouses and children, our ministry changes. YES, we can still serve in the mission field. YES, we can still do many things for the Kingdom of God. However, our first ministry is our homes. Which, quite frankly, is the most important.
So, if I don't learn how to say no, to listen to God's instructions and assignments, and to be obedient with my task at hand, my home ministry will fall apart.
I will have to answer my Father in Heaven regarding this. I will have to give Him an account of how I spent my time here on Earth.
[and I will count up all of those laundry loads too!!]
Friends, we all have enough time to do the things we have been assigned to do by the Father.
Our times are in His Hands.
An example of just how much our time is in His hands is something that happened about three days ago. My family and I were getting off of an exit ramp. We had the green light to go and I started going. Seconds later, I see a HUGE semi-truck barreling towards us. I steadily kept going, without even hesitating. It was almost like it happened in slow motion. No panic, no fear, just peace. He missed us by seconds. Literally.
As soon as it was over, it hit me what had just happened. WE WERE ALMOST DEMOLISHED BY A SEMI TRUCK. AHHHHH!
My daughter and I would have been the first ones hit because the truck would have t-boned our side. The image of that kept flashing through my head. However, His peace had sustained us. No fear. No panic. Just peace.
Our times are in His hands. Seconds, even.
I had a dream recently. In this dream, I heard a voice say to me, "Jill Hill, don't worry, you will get there in plenty of time and you will have plenty of time to get there."
This dream has been baffling me until now. Now, I see it was a reminder to my heart that I will fulfill my assignments here on earth, and with precisely the amount of time needed.
My times are in His hands.
There is no need to be anxious about "not having enough time". We all have plenty of time. In fact, we have all the time we need.
Shortly before Jesus was crucified on the cross, He said this, "I have glorified you on the earth: I have finished the work which you gave me to do." John 17:4
Isn't it true that we all have the same amount of time each day?
If I am correct, we all have 24 hours in each day.
The matter at hand is how we spend this precious time.
Often, we view time as just minutes ticking on a clock. We view time as slots on our already over-loaded calendars. Sometimes when I hear of an upcoming event, my stomach goes into knots. ANOTHER thing to add to our family calendar.
When we view time as minutes, hours, and dates, we miss out on the purpose of this scripture, "My times are in Your hands", psalm 31:5.
The psalmist here acknowledges his complete and utter dependence on the Lord's time for him. He knows that although we run our lives by the clocks on our walls, microwaves, and more importantly our Iphones, we are not the one who is really in charge of our time. God is.
God has a purpose for every second we spend here on earth. Incredible, huh?
As I was folding my children's clothes about 20 minutes ago before sitting down to write this post, I thought, "Lord, this is part of my appointed time for the day, right? Even this minimal task of folding clothes is part of the day You have prepared for me."
It seems so menial, so small, and so unimportant.
But, it's not.
Even these small tasks, make up part of our time on earth. And, if you are like me, if you have a HEAP of laundry, it adds up to a substantial time!
There is many a day, probably too many, I get behind on my housework. When this happens, my house feels like it is turned upside down. I am grumpy. The kids are grumpy, and Lem is grumpy because he has no clean underwear. Umm, check the dirty clothes hamper, honey.
This shows me that taking the time out of my day to prepare for my family's needs is important. It keeps my family rolling along and without the added stress of no clean underwear in sight.
I find myself praying often, "Lord, there is so much to do! I have so many plans! I want to serve you, Lord! Please make the most of my time here! Do I really have to stay home and cook and do laundry? I want to go out and serve!!"
When I get in this mode, I am always reminded of Jesus.
He only spent 3 years in full time ministry. THREE years, yall!
There was SO MUCH TO DO.
How did He sort it all out? What did His calendar look like? How did He know when to stop in a town and when to move on?
I think we have the answer.
He knew that His times were in God's hands.
Can you imagine the demands on Jesus' time? He could not go anywhere without someone begging for a touch, a healing, a miracle. He could not escape the crowds. In fact, scripture tells us that many times He rose early in the morning to go to a solitary place to pray.[Luke 4:16] [Mark 1:35] He fervently sought His instructions and assignments from the Father.
We also know that Jesus did not have a wife or children. His life was devoted and purposed for full-time ministry.
When we have spouses and children, our ministry changes. YES, we can still serve in the mission field. YES, we can still do many things for the Kingdom of God. However, our first ministry is our homes. Which, quite frankly, is the most important.
So, if I don't learn how to say no, to listen to God's instructions and assignments, and to be obedient with my task at hand, my home ministry will fall apart.
I will have to answer my Father in Heaven regarding this. I will have to give Him an account of how I spent my time here on Earth.
[and I will count up all of those laundry loads too!!]
Friends, we all have enough time to do the things we have been assigned to do by the Father.
Our times are in His Hands.
An example of just how much our time is in His hands is something that happened about three days ago. My family and I were getting off of an exit ramp. We had the green light to go and I started going. Seconds later, I see a HUGE semi-truck barreling towards us. I steadily kept going, without even hesitating. It was almost like it happened in slow motion. No panic, no fear, just peace. He missed us by seconds. Literally.
As soon as it was over, it hit me what had just happened. WE WERE ALMOST DEMOLISHED BY A SEMI TRUCK. AHHHHH!
My daughter and I would have been the first ones hit because the truck would have t-boned our side. The image of that kept flashing through my head. However, His peace had sustained us. No fear. No panic. Just peace.
Our times are in His hands. Seconds, even.
I had a dream recently. In this dream, I heard a voice say to me, "Jill Hill, don't worry, you will get there in plenty of time and you will have plenty of time to get there."
This dream has been baffling me until now. Now, I see it was a reminder to my heart that I will fulfill my assignments here on earth, and with precisely the amount of time needed.
My times are in His hands.
There is no need to be anxious about "not having enough time". We all have plenty of time. In fact, we have all the time we need.
Shortly before Jesus was crucified on the cross, He said this, "I have glorified you on the earth: I have finished the work which you gave me to do." John 17:4
Jesus had done the work He had been assigned. Nothing more. Nothing less.
The same will be true for you and I.
There will always be enough time to do the will of the Father. We just have to take the time to ask Him our assignment.
getting on God's time,
jill
