​Not My Time, His Time

There have been countless moments throughout my life where I have been faced with a choice: spend my time doing something I want to do, or spend it doing something for someone else. More often than not, I have preferred to choose what sounded best or most interesting to me—even though I knew that it was selfish. I used to cringe whenever someone would contact me at the last minute asking me to do a favor, make plans, or expect me to drop everything to go help them with whatever was going on at the time. Now, it wasn’t because I didn’t care about the person or want to be there for them, it was the fact that it was taking up my personal time.

It wasn’t until recently that I understood how much of an issue this really is. You see, by caring so much about “my personal time,” I am passing up on the opportunity to minister to the needs of others. When I really thought about it, I realized that I am not compromising “my time,” but rather HIS time. Everything that I have, including time, has been given to me by my Creator. There is nothing I own, partake in, or enjoy that has not been given to me by the grace of God. My time is His. My heart is His. My life is His.

When I think about it, I should look forward to each opportunity I have to serve and help others. Each situation that I am presented with to help someone other than myself is another chance for me to show the love of Christ through serving. In Philippians chapter two we see that Christ—although He was God—took the form of man and served others; “5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” How humbling is that?! If God in the form of His Son spent His time here on earth serving others, what should I be doing as his daughter?
The next time you are asked to spend time working for someone else, think about this: every moment you have is a gift from the Lord. Why not use that gift of time to serve others for His glory?

“17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” – Colossians 3:17

​Abby