I believe that one of the main areas in our lives that changes as we have a heavenly mindset is how we manage our time. Most of us who believe we are “super busy” everyday would be shocked to learn how much time we waste every day. I know not everyone struggles with how to manage their time wisely, but I don’t think I would be too far off if I said most of us do.
When you google “managing my time wisely,” you will find “prioritizing” in every single result. You will learn a lot about yourself and your priorities by just looking at how much time you spend each day on things. In theory, I would love to exercise on a daily basis. I have the means to do so (I have youtube, where I can find any type of exercise I wish, and I can choose whichever workout program I want without even having to leave my house), but in reality, I never do it. I always find an excuse, and I will always do it “tomorrow.” And we all know, “tomorrow” often never comes. Now exercise is important, and it is healthy, but it doesn’t necessarily have an eternal value. (Of course this is no excuse either, and I should just pull myself together and start exercising.)
There are things on the other hand, that have eternal value. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow, so we should use our time in a way that will reflect our heavenly mindedness. Someone once said, “If you are too busy to pray and read your Bible, you are busier than God intended you to be.” If we understand that this earthly life is just a tiny fraction of our eternal life, we can put things into perspective. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we shouldn’t do anything else all day but pray and read our Bibles. That’s not what Jesus did while He was on earth either. But when we don’t have time to pray or read our Bibles on a regular basis, we need to stop and rearrange our lives.
There are undoubtedly some people, who are extremely busy, and legitimately can’t find time to read their Bibles daily. But I also believe that very few of us are that busy. When was the last time I took time out of my day to encourage a friend? When was the last time I took time out of my day to talk about my eternal hope in Jesus with someone? I mention reading the Bible not because that is the only activity that brings glory to God, but because I believe it is necessary in order to have a heavenly mindset. Our actions should reflect the truth we learn from God’s Word. And prayer is something we can do at absolutely anytime. We can pray on our way to work, in the shower, while we wait in line, during lunch, when we wake up, when we go to sleep, and anytime in between.
If you are not yet setting time apart to talk to God (pray) and let God talk to you through His Word (read the Bible) each day, I encourage you to stop, rearrange your priorities, and find time. I can promise you, you will not regret it. On the other hand, if you don’t do so, you will very likely regret it later.
Would you share some ways that helped you find time/make time reading God’s Word on a regular basis?