As another year passes, we should think about how we are using our time. We need to redeem the time (Eph. 5:16; Col. 4:5). Redeem means “buying up” or “buying out.”  Every opportunity must be snapped up as if we have found a bargain. We should make the best of our opportunities while supplies last. Life appears for a little while, then vanishes away (James 4:14).

Time Management

David prayed, “LORD, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor” (Psa. 39:4, 5). Think of how much David accomplished in his life—from his youth as a lowly shepherd boy to his ascension as the great king of Israel. His name is one of the most mentioned in the Bible. His accomplishments are retold today, thousands of years later. However, he was mortal and frail. At his best, he was only vapor. His son, Solomon, commented on the meaninglessness of accomplishing great works and accumulating wealth that will only be left to someone else (Ecc. 2:17-23). No matter how great some people look or how much they seem to have it all together, everyone is fragile. Each person’s life on this earth has an expiration date.

In desiring that the life God had given him would be meaningful, Moses prayed, “establish the work of our hands for us” (Psalm 90:17). In Psalm 90, Moses is speaking on behalf of the Israelite community. God’s is beyond time. He is from everlasting to everlasting (Psa. 90:2). In light of God’s immorality, Moses reflected on man’s mortality and the fragility of life (Psa. 90:3-6). Moses and Israel faced various trials throughout their earthly lives. Israel brought some of the suffering on themselves through their disobedience. His desire was to not waste time in sin that brings on the wrath of God, but rather to please Him who is eternal, to whom we must give an account. God’s people in all subsequent ages can identify with the request of Psalm 90:10-12: “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

Numbering our days means evaluating how we spend our time. We will be judged by how we use what God has given us (Matt. 25:14-30). If we are too busy with other pursuits to spend time pleasing God, then we must reconsider and repent. Do you take time for God’s word at the time of day when you are at your best mentally to take it in? When you spend time with family, are you distracted? Are you present with them so that you can be the kind of family member God wants you to be? When you attend church services, is your heart into what you are doing? Or is your mind somewhere else? Make the most of the little time you have left.