Do any of these scenarios sound familiar to you?  “My life is too hectic! I am running around all day and am pushed to the limit. I fall in bed at night only get up and do it all over again.”  How about this one?  “I don’t feel in control of my life.  I try to figure out what is important and set goals to do it, but other people continually throw wrenches into the works.  For every thing I get done I can think of ten other things that did not get done.  It makes me feel guilty!”  “The hours in my day just slip away.  Sometimes I finish a full and busy day and still end up with nothing crossed off my to do list.”  There is one thing for sure.  We live in fast past times and that won’t change.  There are high stress levels.  Many believers lament their ability to become more involved with church because schedules do not permit it.  Most would agree that their conscience tells them something is not right and things must change.  They know that there is a cost to living like this.  The purpose of this devotion is help you get a grip on time and simplify your life.

 God has entrusted us with three resources: time, money and relationships.  If you are to fulfill God’s plan for your life these three resources must be managed properly. It is the mismanagement of these resources that makes life complicated.  A simplified life means becoming a better steward of your resources.  There are two phases of resource management:  planning and implementation.

 The planning phase contains three principles to properly plan.  The first is meditation and its purpose is to give God time to impart to you the ability to functionally arrange your daily events.  In the Bible the word “understanding” refers to the ability to organize.  Mentally build a picture of your day based on the goals and objectives God has for your life.  This buys back the time that would have otherwise been lost. 

The second principle is selectivity.  To properly select activities you must keep in mind there will never be enough time to do every needful thing that presents itself.  You must prioritize based on importance. Luke 10:38-42 tells us the story of Mary and Martha. Martha discovered that serving Jesus was a good thing, however, it was not the best thing she could have chosen with her time at that moment.  Her decision to serve cost her the opportunity to sit at Jesus’ feet.  The result was that she lost peace and joy.  Her life got complicated.  It has been said, “The key is not to prioritize your schedule but to schedule your priorities.”  When selecting activities, it is important to keep God’s priorities in mind.  This enables you to accomplish His goals for your life.

The third principle in the planning phase is delegation.  Delegation means to assign or appoint responsibility to another individual on your behalf. The most efficient managers delegate to others the time consuming tasks.  Delegation allows you to free up time for issues of higher priority.  The worst thing you can do is everything yourself.  Your life will get very complicated fast.  We must learn to follow the advice given to Moses.  Jethro suggested that Moses delegate things of lower priority and reserve himself for things of greater importance. 

These principles will help anyone plan so that life can be enjoyed.  They help you establish some boundaries and criteria for letting your yes be yes and your no, no.  God gives you the grace to accomplish His priorities for your life.  When we live by that grace, we can run and not be weary.  Then we are prepared for every good work! God bless.