A Life in Balance - Time

Preached at Hallam and Martell UMCs September 23, 2007.

Session 3 – Time – 9/30 – acts 28

Time seems to be the one thing we never have enough of isn't it?—yet all we have is time. We can take time, make time, save time, I even know some people who are “doing time!” I think that it is appropriate that TIME is one of the topics that we think about as we look for balance in our lives.

Finding balance in our lives is really looking at stewardship—taking care of the things entrusted to us by God—caretakers, so to speak. Some of the things that we have been entrusted with include relationships and opportunities. Today I 'd like to share with you a bit about taking care of time—seeking balance in our lives regarding time.

The first aspect of balancing time is:
I. balancing patience and a “right now” mentality
We are such impatient creatures...think about it, for one of life's simple pleasures—popcorn--we used to get a pot, some oil, and heat it up, add the corn and wait. During that wait, we might melt some butter, or get some other topping ready. But when the popping started there was more waiting—at least until the popping slowed down. But the end result was worth the wait—and the work. Today we throw a bag in the microwave and tap our foot while it pops some styrofoam-like thing marketed to us as popcorn.

We want everything as quick as we can get it—even if it not as good as if we had waited. At the same time, there are things that will never happen if we don't get started.

Paul called together the leaders of the church in Rome within 3 days of his arrival in Rome. He wanted to get things rolling. He wanted the “right now.” However, there was little fruit—so he stayed in Rome for 2 years, “speaking with all boldness and freedom.” It is during this time that Paul wrote his letters to the churches at Corinth,Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, and to Philemon, Titus, and Timothy. Seems that God had something in mind for him—perhaps even more than what he had originally thought. He went there to evangelize, and wound up not only doing that, but also having the time set aside for him to write a good portion of the New Testament!

Ghandi once said that “there is more to life than making it go faster.” Balancing our patience and impatience is a tricky task—we want to make things happen in our lives and in our businesses, in our families and in our church, yet we have to take the next step in our balancing act in order to put it into the proper perspective:

II. balancing God's timing with our desire
Habukkuk 2:1 I will stand at my guard post. I will station myself on the wall. I will watch to see what he will say to me and what answer I will get to my complaint. 2 Then the LORD answered me, "Write the vision. Make it clear on tablets so that anyone can read it quickly. 3 The vision will still happen at the appointed time. It hurries toward its goal. It won't be a lie. If it's delayed, wait for it. It will certainly happen. It won't be late.

Notice that Habukkuk tells us that God's plan for our lives will happen at the “appointed time?” That means that God is in control—of our business, our relationships, even our spiritual growth. Now that doesn't mean that we can sit back and simply wait for things to happen, but it does imply that we can push too hard. When things are in God's timing, it simply seems to fall into place. Life does not have to be a constant struggle. Life is too short to spend outside of God's will and purpose in our lives. And what is God's purpose for our lives?--to be in relationship with God and to seek his will and guidance for everything else!

The third and final aspect of balancing time is:
III. balancing desire to enjoy life with need to achieve
Friends, I have to tell you that stress is an inside job. There is nothing in the physical world outside of our psyche that you can point to and say “there it is—that's stress!” So...there is really no such thing as stress—just people reacting in stressful ways! These negative ways in which we react to events include fatigue, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, indigestion, diarrhea, constipation, nervousness, excessive eating, loss of appetite, rashes, nail biting, anxiety, irritability, panic, moodiness, lack of concentration, sleeplessness, ulcers, compulsive behavior—the list goes on and on and on...

The key to getting rid of stress is, quite simply, realignment. II Corinthians 6:6 [People can see] our purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit's presence [in our lives], our sincere love,
Galatians 5:22 But the spiritual nature produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

All of these balancing acts--
I. balancing patience vs. “right now” mentality
II. balancing God's timing with our desire
III. balancing desire to enjoy life with need to achieve
are about this refocus and realignment.

If our focus is on God and his timing, we can accept God's timing, freeing us to enjoy life.That may sound simplistic, but many of the things in our lives that we worry about we cannot change anyway!

Today, take a step toward reliance and trust in God's good timing. Go for a walk, force yourself to sit quietly for twenty minutes, simply listen to yourself breathe and know that God has a plan for your life. Then place your trust in God and give it voice—tell God that you will trust and ask for him to come into your life and give you peace. There is something powerful in saying the words—don't put it off. In fact, let's pray right now...