The book of Proverbs is so full of wisdom, and there is a lot about time management. Many of the verses are similarly themed, particularly frowning upon laziness and the promise of abundance to the diligent. There is a strong association throughout this book between poverty and too much “sleep” as well. I don’t plan to dig into all of the related verses here, but I picked out a few of my favorites to highlight some key points.
Seek God and He’ll Show You What to Do
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
If we seek the Lord and submit our schedules to Him, we open the door for Him to show us what to do. We may have gotten used to doing things our own way, but we have to believe that God has a better plan for us than we do. It can be difficult to trust God when we don’t know all of the details. We have to make the decision to obey the Lord and His leading, even when we can’t see how things will work out. It helps to remember that God is good, He loves us, and He knows better than we do. He is the creator of the universe, after all.
Practical tip: Pray, pray, read the Word, and pray some more! Spend time asking questions and staying open for answers. He might lead you to something in scripture, send a word through a conversation, or give you a sense of peace in your spirit when you are on the right track.
Have a Good Work Ethic
Proverbs 6:6-8 Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.
Ants do not wait until they have run out of food to go looking. We as people often have the tendency to procrastinate things that we could take care of in advance. How many issues could have been avoided if you had done things right away? Did you ever plan to do something later, but something else came up? Does that happen to you often? It is one of the biggest indicators of poor time management. We never know what life will throw at us, so doing what you can do now can save us the stress and headaches later on.
Practical tip: Don’t wait for circumstances to drive you to action. Getting ahead goes a long way in creating breathing room for the emergencies.
Remember that God is Ultimately in Control
Proverbs 16:9 A person plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.
While it is important to make plans, we need to remember that God is in control. We all have our ideas about the way things should go, but they seldom work out that way. The Lord has a way of showing us that we are not the ones with the ultimate power and control. It is also important to keep in mind that we can trust God when things just fall apart. He will cause everything to work out, if you trust Him. We don’t have to feel anxious when our plans seem to fail. God always has a better plan in mind, so it is okay to let go of yours.
Practical tip: Be flexible. Will the world truly end if you have to rearrange something on your schedule? Learn to go with the flow when plans are changed, delayed or canceled. Your life is in God’s hands, and He sees the big picture.
Planning is a Very Good Thing
Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead only to plenty, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
Diligent people get rewarded. Making plans and being intentional about things is profitable. Rushing around to get things done won’t benefit us in the long run. If you want to maximize your time on Earth, time is an important resource that you should budget. Create routines, set goals, and use your time wisely. At the same time, don’t be in such a rush that you miss the lessons that God teaches us through waiting. Live your life on purpose, treasuring your moments, and remembering what truly matters.
Practical Tip: Do make plans. You shouldn’t waste time or live haphazardly. Just remember that you do not have to do everything today. Give yourself grace and time to achieve your goals, because that is a recipe for lasting success.
We should ask ourselves: Am I allowing God to lead me in my time management?
Reflect on that and use the wisdom from Proverbs to help you get on track.
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God’s timing is something that we as people struggle to understand. We all have our own concept of what time means. Everyone has an idea of when they would prefer things to happen in their lives. This is almost always different from when God wants or allows things to unfold in our lives. Patience is most definitely needed to live this life, and long-suffering is the best way to describe the waiting. The one thing that we must learn to embrace is the pace that God moves, and the pace he wants us to live.
There is Always a Waiting Period
It doesn’t matter if you are waiting to find out if you got the job after that big interview or you are heating up the delicious leftovers from last night’s meal in the microwave, we are always waiting for something. Red lights, shipping delays, snail mail, slowly loading websites, doctor’s office visits, being put on hold, and other painful waiting experiences plague us daily. Kids can’t wait to be teenagers and teens can’t wait to be adults. The truth is that nothing ever happens as quickly as we would like it to, and we are always stuck waiting for time to pass.
Advertisers go crazy appealing to this impatient craving in us, with offers that include fast results, time saved, and reduced waiting. Everyone wants everything yesterday, right now, or as soon as possible, no matter what it is. People look for same day delivery, fast service, and instant results at every chance. We want the fastest way to get there on the GPS, the quickest way to drop the weight, and the speediest method the resolving our problems. We favor completion over process, and we are willing to borrow and spend extra money to get the things that we want right now.
Even with all of the technology and conveniences we have in this day and age, we are never satisfied because we still have to wait. Maybe we don’t have to wait as long as we used to for certain things, but there is always a wait. No matter how advanced we become as a society, there will always be a need for patience.
Why God Wants Us to Wait
There is a special work that God can do inside of us while we are waiting for things. The popular saying, “what doesn’t kill you makes your stronger,” has an element of truth to it. Experience teaches us that the issues that we face have the potential to either destroy us or make us better. It is God’s desire to make us better, stronger, and full of character.
Looking into His word, we see that through waiting, God:
Increases our endurance. James 1:2-4 NLT says:
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Going through hard times makes us tougher. We get stronger as we deal with the uncomfortable, difficult, and unexpected. If the Lord did not allow trials in our lives, we would never know what it is like to endure. We could not grow and change if our circumstances were always easy.
Develops our character. Romans 5:3-5 says:
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
Compassion, flexibility, patience, integrity, and other attributes of a good character come through experiences. These opportunities to grow can feel rather unpleasant, but in the end, they change you. That change can be for the better if you allow the Lord to shape you when you would rather be selfish, rigid, and satisfied.
Rewards us. Galatians 6:9 NLT says:
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.
Ultimately, if we allow God to shape our character, we will see the fruits of our discomfort. We can’t give up, however. It is not easy to change, and always doing the right thing can be tiring. We are promised a reward if we endure to the end.
As we wait for God’s timing, we need to ask ourselves:
What are the things that I am enduring right now?
What is God trying to teach me through my current circumstances?
How can I see my current problems as opportunities to grow?
In what areas do I need to show more patience?
Prayerfully consider the answers to these questions. Allow the Lord to stretch and grow you in your unpleasant circumstances. Open your heart to change and growth. Don’t give up, and you will see a harvest of blessings.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
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