God's Time Principles

KAREN WHITING | KARENWHITING.COM TIME

OVERSCHEDULING AND SLEEP DEPRIVATION LEAD TO TROUBLE. One double booking had me scrambling and unfocused. That’s also when my oldest son put out all the garbage including silver bags of important craft supplies. I ended up at the local dump to retrieve those bags, stood in muck surrounded by garbage and pine trees, while the men slowly dumped the load around me. I grabbed my bags once I spotted them, although the men laughed because they ripped and revealed huge pinecones for children’s crafts. Psalm 23 seemed a far-off dream. I prayed for help. I discovered God, from the very beginning, had the best time management principles to guide my choices.

God’s basic time principles from the days of creation in Genesis One: 1. Start with light and get enlightened. That means start with prayer and ask for wisdom. Seek information. Highlight how the choice will bless people and fit with your calling.

2. Separate the heavenly from the mundane. Know your motives. Earning money is necessary, but also know how the choice will give God glory.

3. God filled the earth with plants and trees that grow and produce fruit and seeds. We need to fill our life with what will grow relationships and ministry. Choose to do what will be fruitful. Avoid trying to do it all; focus instead on the type of fruit you are called to grow.

4. God created the heavenly bodies and divided time into seasons, years, and days. We are called to dream big and yet to realize that each activity has its season. Choose what is best for the current day and season. Keep a list of ideas for other seasons. 5

. God created creatures that move and adapt. We must be adaptable, flexible and willing to move forward when God beckons us. Do not let obstacles hold you back. Adapt and go forth.

6. God created people. They were not meant to be alone, but to work together. God gave man purpose and responsibility. We need to commit to what God calls us to do, to team up within our Christian family and to fulfill our responsibilities. Look for helpers for projects or groups where you can fit in. Know that publishers, readers, audiences and supporters are also team members.

On this day, God also blessed people in Genesis 1:28. “Be fruitful, and multiply” (KJV). Choose what can be reproduced and multiplied.

7. God rested. He set the example and wants us to rest too. Avoid overcrowding a calendar; leave time for rest.

The Hebrew word barak for “blessed” in Genesis 1:28 is used 330 times in the Old Testament. It uses Hebrew letters that depict bowing down or kneeling. God bends toward us to bless us. We kneel with humility to bless God and to receive blessings. One meaning is to cause to be prospered by God. We long for God’s blessings. God’s words to Abraham in Genesis 12 shared that Abraham would be a blessing to all nations. That’s for us, too.

Choose to bless others in God’s timing and let God guide your path. Then you’ll be living Psalm 23.