My times are in Your hands.

I want to control my schedule.  By controlling my schedule, I can control my satisfaction in what I think I should be accomplishing.  By finding my satisfaction in my to-do list, I also derive peace from that to-do list.  By finding my peace and satisfaction in my to-do list, I control my life. 

And when I believe this, I believe a lie.  And maybe you believe this lie.

Our schedules may be ours, but time is not ours.  Our Lord is the creator of time.  Our Lord is the keeper of time.  And our Lord is the owner of time.  Surely the creator, keeper, and owner of time can manage our schedules better than we can. 

The Lord wants my schedule.  And the Lord wants yours.

I am sorry that it took this frustration with my schedule for me to give control to God.  Yet, this frustration reminds us that we must entrust every aspect of our schedule to the Lord.  And I believe this requires that we stop believing the lie that time is ours.  Because when we stop believing the lie that time is ours, we stop expecting our schedule to be ours.  When we stop expecting our schedule to be ours, we stop becoming frustrated when our schedule is altered. 

This propels us to rest in God throughout the day.  Thus, we place our satisfaction in God and not in our to-do lists.  And I am speaking just as much to myself as I am speaking to you.  Each day we trust that the Lord helps us accomplish exactly what we need.

And it is not a meaningless schedule in which we find our peace; it is our Lord Jesus Christ in whom we find our peace. 

I pray we rest in God every moment of this day.  I pray we deliberately turn our schedules over to God.  For me, this has meant repeatedly saying, "My schedule is Yours, Lord."  I pray we trust that each day the Lord and what He has for us is enough.  Praise God that the creator, the keeper, and the owner of time is most equipped to manage our time.

“But I trust in you, Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’  My times are in your hands. . . .”  (Psalm 31:14, 15 NIV).

“And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.  God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’  And there was evening and there was morning—the first day.”  (Genesis 1:3-5 NIV).

“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”  (James 4:13-15 NIV).   

Easy on the creamer this morning . . . at least for those of us who had to waddle to the coffeepot due to the Thanksgiving turkey and mashed potatoes stuck to our booties.

Much love to you,

Paige