Redeem Time
“unseized time flows to our weaknesses.”
King David did not simply wake up one morning and decide to become a murderer. As is so often the case, the first sin he committed was seemingly small.
“In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.” (2 Samuel 11:1)
The last time the King of Israel refused to fight God’s enemies he allowed a boy to conquer a giant with nothing more than a sling and a stone. By failing to Redeem Time David had become just like Saul. The battle to redeem time remains a struggle, no matter how accomplished, distinguished or successful we are. If we fail to seek God’s strength to redeem time, we will inevitably fall into a life where we cease to lean on His strength at all.
“It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” (2 Samuel 11:2-3)
Karl loves the quote “unseized time flows to our weaknesses.” David had to learn that lesson the hard way. By refusing to do what he was supposed to do, he ended up somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be, looking at someone he wasn’t supposed to look at. By failing to redeem time David started down a path he would regret for the rest of his life. His sin started small, but it resulted in the death of a righteous man and an innocent child.
We now live in a world filled with rooftops from which we can sit and gaze while the battles God calls us to fight are raging. We miss out on His blessings when we seek comfort in the distractions of the world, instead of the joy of faithfully serving and resting in Him. The great news is that faithfulness starts small too. What’s a small step you can take this week to better redeem your time? Let us know in the comments below.
Shawn
Redeem time. Abide in Christ and pray without ceasing. Pray for better discipline. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man - 1 Corinthians 9:25-27
English Standard Version
25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control,[a] lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Yep! Reminds me of the song, “It’s a Slow Fade” by Casting Crowns. Chuck Swindole is also doing a series currently on King Solomon, who started out so good but did not finish well. I’d say he redeemed his time with too much of the wrong things. Also important in Redeeming Time, is redeeming it with that which pleases God, not our flesh.