Being a Good Steward of Your Time


There are many possible reactions to any given situation. Solomon wrote that there's a time for every matter under heaven. How do we know which response to choose? So many stewardship issues come down to this one: time. How do you decide what God would have you do in any given moment? How do you choose between several options? âAnd to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea. When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay? But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.â (2 Corinthians 1:16-20) The Corinthian church was a church that had many problems. They had come a long way. But there were still many in the church who needed to be rebuked. Paul had to rebuke them before. Paul didn't want to make another painful visit to them (2 Corinthians 2:1). He wanted to come and rejoice with them! But he would for the sake of their faith. So Paul had a choice to make. Would he visit the Corinthians in person as soon as possible, and then again on his way back to Judea, or would Paul write a letter now, and visit later? It appears as though Paul changed his mind about what he wanted to do (v. 16). Some accused Paul of being incapable of making a simple decision. Others accused Paul of saying one thing while planning to do another (v. 17). But Paul wasn't wavering in this decision (v. 18). What in the world does all this âYes, Yes, No, Noâ stuff mean? Paul believed in a God who is faithful to His promises. If God is faithful to His promises, shouldn't we be faithful to ours? Christ is the affirmative answer to all of God's promises. God promised to Adam and Eve that their offspring would crush Satan. God promised to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, and that all the world would be blessed through him. God promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us. God promised that we would go to be with Him when this life is over. Christ is the fulfillment of all these promises. We want to be faithful as God is faithful to His promises. We want to be faithful as Christ was faithful in fulfilling all of God's promises. This is why we identify with Jesus in His death and in His life. We want to be like Jesus because Jesus was the affirmative answer to all of God's promises, and when we put our faith in Him, when we make Him our Lord, we're to be like Him, faithful in all things. Paul wasn't wavering in this decision, he was seeking God's will, and striving to be faithful with the time God had given him. He was telling the Corinthians, âI wanted to come see you now and rebuke those still in sin so that we can all be on the same page when I come to see you again afterward, and so that we can have a visit of pure joy, not hindered by anyone's sin or hardness of heart.â But God directed Paul not to make the first visit to them. The text doesn't say why Paul decided not to come with a rebuke. We can only assume that Paul gained a greater understanding of God's will, which should always override our own will. Sometimes our understanding of God's will changes, and our plans change as a result. Being a good steward of your time means allowing God to direct your paths. The time we live now has eternal ramifications. How we spend our time is a matter of wisdom (Ephesians 5:15-16). But we need to make this practical. A man named J. A. VanHorn once wrote, âTo the philosopher, time is one of the fundamental quantities. To the average man, time has something to do with dinner.â In order to make the most of our time, we need to move from the theoretical to the practical. How do we determine what God would have us do with our time? 1. Search the Scriptures. God has told us in His Word what it is that He would have us do. God desires that we would be obedient in our use of time. 2. Pray diligently. We cannot live according to God's will we are going to God in prayer often. The more we go to God in prayer, the more we are leaning upon God for our direction, and the more God Himself will direct our paths. 3. Be wise. If we are in the Scriptures, and if we are often going to God in prayer, then trust that God will direct you. But be careful. There's a way that seems right to man, but in the end leads to death (Proverbs 14:12). We cannot have wisdom unless we obtain it from God. This is why it's so important to be in the Scriptures and diligently in prayer. An anonymous poet once wrote: What time is it? Time to do well, Time to live better, Give up that grudge, Answer that letter, Speak the kind word to sweeten a sorrow, Do that kind deed you would leave 'till tomorrow. I want to encourage all of us to not consider our time as our own, but to receive it as a gift from God, and seek as much as possible to give it back to Him, and let God use your time for His purposes.

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