Where does the time go? Do you ever race through a day and then wonder “where did the time go?” I think that about much of my life, especially as I prepare my three kids to begin school again next week. Where has summer gone? Next, I’ll be commenting that I can’t believe it’s already Christmas, and so it goes! Although I believe most of us have uttered something similar at some point in our lives, I stop today to question as one who is determined to know exactly where the time does go.
So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.~ Acts 3:5
We give our attention to things that we expect to receive something from. Think about it, we are often told to give attention to, or pay attention to. The words give and pay remind us that there is a cost to putting our focus or attention in one place.
As the days and nights “fly” by I want to challenge you to the challenge I’m also giving myself. For the next 3 days, set a timer on your phone (or elsewhere) to go off every 30-minutes. Ask yourself “what did I just spend 30 minutes doing?” Then, write it down. Then ask, what did I receive from giving my attention to this?
The most common complaint I hear regarding quiet time with God, studying His Word, praying etc. is “it’s hard to find the time.” I believe it’s hard to find the time because we aren’t focused on our time, how we currently use it and how it can be better spent.
Below are several scriptures that share God’s thoughts on the subject of our attention.
Proverbs 4:20 My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.
Proverbs 5:1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding,
Proverbs 7:24 Now therefore, listen to me, my children; Pay attention to the words of my mouth:
1 Timothy 4:13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
Where is your time going? What can you cut out to give more attention to the things which will last for eternity? I know we’ve all heard many times that we can’t take anything with us when we die. I disagree. We can take His Word with us! His Word never dies! I pray for all of us that we find even more time to pay attention to His Word, when we do we can surely expect to receive something beneficial from it.
Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Written by Jamie Shaver