Time is one of the most valuable gifts God gives us, yet it may also be one of the easiest things to waste. We can waste money and earn some more. We can lose possessions and replace many of them. But once a day is gone, we cannot get it back.
There are 24 hours in every day, 1,440 minutes, and 86,400 seconds. Every one of them is a gift from God. We do not know how many of those days we will receive, which makes the way we use them a matter of stewardship.
Ecclesiastes 3 begins with these familiar words: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Life moves through seasons. Some are joyful. Others are painful. Some are filled with beginnings, while others require us to let go. Wisdom is not merely learning how to accomplish more. Biblical wisdom means recognizing the season God has placed us in and faithfully using the time He has given us.
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“What you spend the most time with is often an indication of what you love the most.”
Watch Where Your Time Goes
Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Numbering our days does not mean living with a morbid preoccupation with death. It means remembering that life is limited and therefore valuable.
Psalm 39:4 expresses a similar prayer: “Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.” We tend to live as though there will always be more time. There will be another opportunity to make the phone call, spend time with our family, serve someone, share our faith, pursue something God has placed on our heart, or repair a relationship.
But we do not actually know how much time we have.
I have tried some of those online calculators that supposedly estimate how long you are going to live. One told me I would live into my seventies, which was not exactly groundbreaking information. Another asked considerably more questions about health, sleep, exercise, work environment, and lifestyle and predicted that I would live past 100.
Those two predictions would require very different retirement plans! Of course, neither website knows how long I will live, and neither do I.
James 4:14 asks, “What is your life?” and answers, “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” That reality should not make Christians fearful. It should make us purposeful.
“A wasted life is really nothing more than a collection of wasted days.”
There Really Is a Time for Everything
Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 describes the remarkable range of experiences that make up a human life. There is a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and uproot, a time to weep and laugh, a time to mourn and dance, a time to search and give up, a time to keep and throw away, a time to be silent and speak, and a time for war and peace.
Solomon is describing the seasons of life. We do not get to remain in one season forever. Youth eventually gives way to age. Beginnings eventually lead to endings. Celebration can be followed by grief, and grief can eventually give way to laughter again.
Wisdom includes learning to receive each season from God and live faithfully in it.
A Time to Be Born and a Time to Die
The beginning and end of life remind us how little control we actually have over time.
I remember waiting for our daughter Jessica to be born. My wife had been on bed rest for quite a while, and we prayed that our little girl would stay in the womb until she was healthy enough to be born. Jessica eventually arrived three weeks early.
I remember standing at the hospital nursery beside another father. His baby had also been born about three weeks early and was experiencing problems with his lungs and breathing. Our daughter had arrived just as early, but she was doing fine. We were deeply thankful.
There was a time for her to be born, and God knew that time before we did.
Then Ecclesiastes immediately reminds us that there is also “a time to die.” Death is difficult whether it arrives suddenly or slowly. Sudden death leaves us wishing we had been able to say goodbye. A terminal illness may give us time to prepare, but it can also mean watching someone we love suffer.
For the Christian, however, death does not have the final word. When someone belongs to Christ, we grieve with hope. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25).
A Time to Plant and a Time to Uproot
Years ago, when we moved into a newly built house, I needed to do some landscaping. I went to Home Depot and bought some trees. I did not spend much time researching them. I basically thought, “We need trees. These look like trees. Let’s plant them.”
I planted three spruce trees, a red maple, and a silver maple. The dog eventually destroyed the red maple, but the silver maple survived. Years later I discovered that a silver maple can become an enormous tree with aggressive roots. It probably was not the wisest tree to plant where I planted it.
I learned something simple: if you are going to plant something that may be there for decades, it is worth taking time to understand what you are planting.
That principle extends far beyond landscaping. We plant habits. We plant relationships. We make investments. We establish careers. We put down roots in communities and churches. Decisions that seem small today may grow into something much larger later.
Then there are times when something has to be uprooted.
The builder had planted an ash tree in our front yard. Eventually the wind damaged the trunk badly enough that the tree needed to come down. I planned to remove the stump and plant something else.
Then I discovered that the roots had grown around the natural gas line.
Someone suggested drilling holes in the stump and burning it out. That sounded like a particularly bad idea once I knew a natural gas line was tangled in the roots. I pictured something considerably more dramatic than ordinary stump removal.
So I had to proceed carefully.
That became a picture for me of the way things become rooted in our lives. Sometimes our roots become deeply entangled with relationships, habits, locations, careers, or even sin. Uprooting something may affect far more than we initially realize.
Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” Sometimes getting untangled takes time, wisdom, prayer, and help from other people.
“Sometimes our roots are embedded, our roots are entangled, and our roots are deep.”
A Time to Weep and a Time to Laugh
Ecclesiastes reminds us that life contains a full range of emotions. There is “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.”
We should not feel guilty for grieving when it is time to grieve. Nor should we feel guilty for enjoying life when God gives us something worth celebrating.
As I have gotten older, I have found myself deliberately pausing during happy moments and trying to record them in my mind. There are experiences we assume will happen again that may never happen in exactly the same way. Children grow up. People move. Jobs change. Parents and grandparents get older. Seasons end.
When God gives you a beautiful moment, be present for it.
Put the phone down. Look around. Thank God. Laugh. Enjoy the people He has placed around you.
There will be a time to mourn. When it is time to rejoice, rejoice.
A Time to Search and a Time to Give Up
Ecclesiastes also says there is “a time to search and a time to give up.” That verse reminds me of a mystery that has never been solved in our family.
When my wife and I first got married, we received one of those kitchen knife sets with a wooden block. Somehow we lost the largest knife.
How do you lose the largest kitchen knife?
It was not like losing a pen or a sock. Somewhere there was apparently a very large knife that had simply disappeared. We searched for it and never found it.
Eventually there comes a point when you stop looking.
Some things deserve persistent searching. If you are looking for God’s direction concerning a spouse, career, ministry opportunity, or important decision, keep praying and seeking wisdom. Other things eventually need to be released.
Part of wisdom is knowing the difference.
A Time to Keep and a Time to Throw Away
I have reached the stage of life where I sometimes discover that keeping something actually pays off.
I once had some extra brake pads from working on somebody else’s vehicle. I did not own the vehicle they fit, but I put the pads on a shelf anyway. Eventually someone came along with a vehicle that needed exactly those brake pads.
That was a satisfying moment. I had become the guy who could say, “See, I knew there was a reason to keep that!”
Of course, that philosophy can get out of control quickly. Ecclesiastes says there is both a time to keep and a time to throw away.
Wisdom knows which time it is.
That applies to more than garages and basements. Sometimes we hold onto commitments, possessions, habits, expectations, or even grudges that should have been released long ago. We need to periodically ask whether what we are carrying is helping us faithfully live the life God has given us.
A Time to Be Silent and a Time to Speak
There are times when the wisest thing we can do is remain quiet. Not every opinion needs to be expressed. Not every preference needs to become an argument. Listening is often more valuable than speaking.
But there are also times when silence is wrong.
Christians should not remain silent about Jesus. We have been entrusted with the good news of salvation. There are moments when someone needs encouragement, truth, correction, or an explanation of the hope we have in Christ.
Wisdom asks not merely, “What do I want to say?” but, “Is this the right time to say it?”
God Has Put Eternity in Our Hearts
After describing all these seasons, Ecclesiastes 3:11 makes an extraordinary statement: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart.”
We live within time, but something within us longs for more than time.
We recognize that this life is temporary. We build things knowing they will eventually deteriorate. We love people knowing that unless Christ returns first, death will eventually separate us. We accomplish goals only to discover another goal beyond them.
God has placed eternity in our hearts.
That is why using our time wisely cannot simply mean becoming more productive. You can have a perfectly organized calendar and still waste your life. You can accomplish an enormous amount and miss what matters eternally.
The most important question is whether you know the God who gave you your life.
Make Time for Jesus
Sin separates us from God, but God has provided the way back to Himself through Jesus Christ. John 3:16 tells us that God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus lived the perfect life we could not live. He died on the cross for our sins and rose again. Salvation is offered to us through faith in Him.
Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
If you have never trusted Christ, there is no more important use of this moment. Acknowledge your sin, believe that Jesus died and rose again, and place your faith in Him. Ask Him to forgive you and lead your life.
You may not know how much time you have, but you can know where you will spend eternity.
“We need to enjoy each season, prepare for each season, trust God in each season, and live for Jesus no matter what the season is.”
Use Your Time Wisely
Ephesians 5:15–17 tells us, “Be very careful, then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.” Biblical stewardship includes stewardship of our time.
That requires priorities.
One of the most helpful observations about time management is that we cannot actually manage time. The clock continues moving regardless of what we do. What we can manage are our priorities and choices.
Ask yourself some revealing questions. What do you want most? What occupies your thoughts? How do you use your money? What do you do with your leisure time? Whose company do you seek? Who do you admire? What makes you laugh?
Our answers reveal a great deal about what we actually value.
Jesus made a similar point when He said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Our calendars, like our bank accounts, often reveal our priorities more accurately than our intentions do.
Learn to Maximize the Time You Have
I like to combine activities when it makes sense. I may exercise while listening to the Bible or an audiobook. If I am doing a work task that does not require intense concentration, I may listen to something that helps me grow spiritually or learn something useful.
I have listened to a lot of books that way. John Maxwell has described our days as identical suitcases. Everyone receives the same size suitcase, but some people learn how to pack more into it.
The point is not that every minute must become productive. Rest is valuable. Recreation is valuable. Relationships require unhurried time. Jesus Himself withdrew from crowds and rested.
The goal is not to cram activity into every available second. The goal is intentionality.
There is a significant difference between choosing to rest and accidentally wasting three hours. There is a difference between enjoying entertainment and allowing entertainment to consume the time we intended to give to something more important.
Make Time to Pray
One of the easiest things to crowd out of a busy schedule is prayer, which is ironic because prayer is one of the things we need most when life becomes busy.
Romans 12:12 tells us to be “joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Sometimes we begin the day thinking we have too much to accomplish to spend time praying. A better perspective is that we have so much to accomplish that we cannot afford not to pray.
Prayer reminds us that our schedule is not ultimately sovereign. God is. Our plans can change. Opportunities can appear unexpectedly. Problems can interrupt us. Wisdom means committing our plans to God while remaining available for His direction.
How Will You Use Your Time?
Ecclesiastes 3:12–13 says there is nothing better than to be happy, do good, eat, drink, and find satisfaction in our work. These ordinary joys are described as gifts from God.
So enjoy the life God has given you. Work hard. Rest when it is time to rest. Laugh when it is time to laugh. Grieve when it is time to grieve. Hold on when you should hold on and let go when it is time to let go. Spend time with the people you love. Serve others. Pray. Share your faith. Pay attention to the season you are in instead of constantly wishing you were in another one.
Most importantly, live with eternity in view.
You cannot save today’s hours and use them tomorrow. By midnight, this day will be gone. But you can decide what you will do with the time God has placed in front of you right now.
Ask God for wisdom. Ask Him to order your priorities and show you what deserves your attention. Then faithfully use the opportunities He gives you.
There really is a time for everything. Whatever season you are walking through today, trust God in it, follow Jesus through it, and make the most of the time you have been given.