Do you ever have difficulty finding time for certain things? Are you familiar with that end-of-the-day feeling where you realize once again you failed to achieve something you’ve been wanting to accomplish? Maybe it’s extra time with your family around the dinner table, a few moments of solitude for yourself, or finding time to balance finances or catch up on your to-do list. How about in your spiritual life? Do you ever find yourself desperately wanting to have a better prayer or study life, but just never seem to be able to find the time to really invest in them? Unfortunately, I’m sure all of us can answer an emphatic YES to most of these questions. With the pace of our world today it can be hard to find time for almost anything. However, what if there was a fundamental problem with how we approached time in the first place? What if we were able to shift our perspective on time itself and somehow “find” the time we’re always missing out on? This paradigm shifting realization came to me in college from a friend who was regimented athlete named Matt. Matt heavily invested in his health and well-being; always went to bed and woke up early, had three nutritious meals a day, and never missed a chance to be in the gym. Ever. While talking to Matt one day about how I wish I could find the time to join him in the gym he gave me some advice that’s never left me, “J, you’ll never find time to work out. You have to maketime to work out.” Now, I confess I still don’t make time for the gym, but what Matt revealed to me that day was a much better outlook on time then I had previously held.
What if the reason we never found time for God was because we never made time for Him in the first place? We can find a good example of this when Paul is on trial in Acts 24. After being brought into the governor of Judea’s court, Felix, Ananias and his lawyer, Tertullas, launch a fabricated prosecution against Paul. Unwaveringly, Paul not only defends himself by pointing to the fact they neither have evidence or eyewitnesses to prove their accusations., but he is also able to turn the conversation to the real reason he’s on trial: he is a leader of the Way. Felix, having some knowledge of this new faith of Christianity, simply deters his decision and detains Paul for the present time. Acts 24:24-25, “After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I find time, I will summon you.”” Felix would fail to sufficiently find the time to declare Paul innocent or truly hear him out for the following two years. It seems as if as soon as Paul started making his testimony personal to Felix, “…as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment…” Felix would send Paul away. Maybe Felix was failing to find the time for Paul, and God Himself, because it was too uncomfortable. Or maybe, as we find out in verse 26, Felix would fail to find the time for Paul because he had alternative motives, “At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul. So, he sent for him often and conversed with him.”
How are you handling your time in the present? Are you like Felix in that you fail to find the time for God because when you do you’re faced with the reality of your decisions? When you bow the knee in prayer do you have to come face to face with your own shortcomings, so you simply never find the time to approach His throne? Or maybe you just simply have bigger priorities at the moment. Felix never truly found time for Paul because his bigger goal was to get a bride out of him. What aspect of your life right now impedes you from finding time for God? Perhaps you need to swap how you see time. Instead of trying to find time for God in your daily walk, try making time for Him first thing in the morning. Carve out precious minutes throughout your day in prayer, reflection, or study. Whatever this looks like for you, I pray you take your time seriously and stop waiting to find magical time for Him, but you make time for Him instead.