Word Before World by Gretchen SafflesSample

What Is Your Schedule Telling You?

Most days, my to-do list doesn’t match the amount of time I’ve allotted to complete it. If you were to peek into my planner, it would quickly become apparent that I believe I’m an exception to the “everyone has only twenty-four hours in a day” rule.

Take yesterday, for example. I was like a ping-pong ball, bouncing from one activity to the next. By nighttime, I was exhausted, beat, kaput. And still, after all the striving, all the coffee consumed, all the pep talks I’d given myself to just keep going, I ended the day with unfinished items on my to-do list. The humbling reality is that like everyone else, I only have twenty-four hours in a day.

But these impossible standards are not put there by God, as if he were tapping his foot, waiting on us to complete our impossible agenda. He knows our limitations. He knows we are human. And when we surrender our schedules to him and commit to doing all that is before us for his glory, he shows us his priorities so we can order our day in a way that leaves us fulfilled rather than exhausted.

No matter your background, location, ambitions, or vocation, every human experiences the same limitation each day: time—twenty-four hours, 1,440 minutes, 86,400 seconds, to be exact. Even Jesus, the Son of God, experienced the constraints of time while on earth.

The Gospel writers—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—describe how Jesus spent his time through firsthand accounts of his ministry. He proclaimed the gospel of the Kingdom of God, healed those with physical limitations, stopped mid-journey to talk to outcasts, ate supper with sinners, made breakfast with his disciples, and even took naps.

Jesus is our best role model when it comes to time management. His life sheds light on how we can live with eternal vision and a gospel-centered mission.

If you were to dissect the way you spend your time, would it line up with the example set by Jesus?

We might say we don’t have time to read the Bible, but our phone’s screen time tracker tells us otherwise.

We might say we can’t memorize Scripture, but the number of songs and quotes we can retrieve from the recesses of our brain disproves this.

We might say we can’t focus during prayer, but our tendency to worry and ruminate reveals our ability to think about one thing, even while doing another task.

The truth is, the way we spend our time reveals what we treasure most (see Matthew 6:21). Jesus’ number-one priority was to accomplish the work his Father sent him to do, and this informed the way he spent his time. God created us to live within the boundaries of time, and he gives us the exact amount of time we need to accomplish what he has called us to do.

The same God who took on flesh not only understands the constraints of time but also grants us the wisdom, through his Word, to guide us as we make decisions about how we use the minutes we’ve been given (see James 1:5).

Your life is always preaching a sermon about what your heart treasures most. What sermon will your schedule preach today?

Was this plan helpful? The content was adapted from my book Word before World: 100 Devotions to Put Jesus First. Learn more at https://www.gretchensaffles.com/book/wordbeforeworld