The best-selling author of Redeeming Your Time, Jordan Raynor, sits down with me for a delightful conversation on his new book to talk about the seven powerful biblical principles for being purposeful, present, and wildly productive in an age where we’re forced to just move through the motions of life.
What is a common misconception you have about the time in your hands? Mine would be that I need to be productive. All. The. Time. And being productive means constantly doing something that will greatly impact my future and the lives of those around me.
However, as I talked with best-selling author Jordan Raynor and after I read his book Redeeming Your Time, most of my misconceptions about “making time” and “time management” just went away.
Simply put, the only way we can allow God to redeem our time is by shifting our focus on our Redeemer Jesus Christ (not on our growing to-do lists!), the most productive human being who has ever lived. If He can redeem us from sin, He can surely redeem us from slavery to time, too.
Fact: there are a lot of things that attempt to distract us from God’s will for us on how to spend every single day. And it’s the same with Jesus!
When He was walking on Earth, there were a lot of times when people and circumstances attempted to distract Him and take Him away from what God wanted Him to do in a day—people were sick and dying and in need of healing and new life—yet He was always present. He was always in the moment. He was always with us
If you want to allow God to redeem your time, too, here are the seven principles that Jordan talked about in his book—in a nutshell. I pray that these will help you redeem your time, too, the way they did mine
Put God at the beginning of your every day
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” —Mark 1:35
Remember how Jesus always started His day by being with God? That’s the way we ought to do it, too. When we start our day by listening to God, we will learn to listen to how we’re meant to spend the rest of the day, too. This is the first and most important key to redeeming our time.
Let your “yes” be a “yes.”
“All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” —Matthew 5:37
The problem with us is we say “yes” even when we actually mean to say “no.” Practice saying “yes” when you fully and wholeheartedly mean to say a “yes.”
Prioritize.
“While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ And immediately the leprosy left him.” —Luke 5:12-13
Since we’re only limited beings, we must prioritize the things we commit to. We don’t have to say “yes” to everything and to everyone, but we have to say “yes” to the important things or to the things where God is leading us.
Be okay with spending time in the quietness.
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” —Luke 5:16
Spend time in the peace and quiet with God. When your mind is starting to get cluttered, don’t be afraid to withdraw for a while and realign your day and time with the Author of Time—God Himself.
Be present.
“While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.” —Matthew 9:10
We are not omnipresent like God. And, believe it or not, this is okay. God is okay with this. Jesus, who definitely had a lot of things to do and who was dealing with a lot of things during His limited time on earth, took time and stayed in the present. He was present in teaching His disciples and in being with the people He was meant to be with in the moment.
Embrace rest.
“Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.” —Mark 6:31-32
Taking a break from everything is okay. Resting in God is okay. It is productive to be still and just delight and enjoy being in the presence of God. When we’re fully refreshed in God, we can also fully give ourselves to His will for us.
Eliminate hurry.
“It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” —John 13:1
In the words of Jordan, “God loves you regardless of how productive you are in this life.” Jesus loved us to the end of His life on earth. His joy was complete when He redeemed us from everything that enslaves us.
This is why we can also eliminate being a slave to a life of hurry. We are now able to delight, enjoy, and cherish where God leads us every day because we don’t have to prove anything to Him.
What we do or don’t do doesn’t matter to God; He loves us regardless of how many things we’ve accomplished on our to-do lists. Today, may we keep this thought in our hearts: that we are loved by God, period.
If you want to dive deep into these seven powerful time principles, listen to my conversation with Jordan and don’t forget to purchase his latest book Redeeming Your Time.