“….making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
Ephesians 5:16
Are you losing?
Patrick Morley said it well; “Nothing wastes more time for the Christian than pursuing his own independent will. When we make plans apart from God, they have to be withdrawn, we lose. We lose in time, money, and relationships.”
MD5 Lab Recap
In our last MD5 Lab we focused on the subject of Margin. How are you doing? Could you use more margin? I’m guessing the answer is, “YES!”.
In Lab we talked about making the best use of, or to use Paul’s words in in the KJV version of Ephesians 5:16, reclaiming, or “redeeming” chunks of time and re-investing in better things. Screen time, recreation time, and even commute time are all great places to reclaim time for prayer, connecting with others, and finding areas of service.
Patrick Morley suggested that many of us would be more effective with our time if we broke a vicious cycle in our decision-making.
He identified five stages that many of us are guilty of following:
I tell God what I’m going to do...
God responds.
I beg God to let me do it anyway...
Finally, I humble myself and listen.
God tells me what He is going to do.
The Process of Elimination
Patrick asks the question, “So, what if we eliminated stages 1-3?” What if we were intentional about seeking God first instead of the “Ready, Fire, Aim” approach we often follow. It’s probably worth considering.
Larry Martin
MD5 Lab Facilitator