Other than being something that neither you nor I have much of, it’s amazing how time plays out in regards to righteousness and evil.
Believe it or not, time works differently for us when we spend it towards Godliness than when we spend it towards sin.
The Urgency for Righteousness
There is an urgency to spend our time for God. Growing in God takes time. It requires patient continuance and waiting. We have to tarry until we are endued with power (Luke 24).
To grow in God we are short on time. We need long hours spent over years to develop in our calling and giftings and our relationship with Jesus. To grow as men and women of the Word and to cultivate a spirit of power on our lives requires lots of time.
We’ve all heard it before but it’s true that we cannot get a deep life in God on the run. The Kingdom is not a drive through fast food joint.
The Slippery Slope of Compromise
On the other hand, it is easy to fall into sin and to waste our time on darkness. The time we spend in darkness will quickly overtake us and lead us down the wrong path. It is a slippery slope.
We all have plenty of time to waste our lives because the days are evil. Thus we must walk circumspectly and vigilantly. We must redeem the time.
The Point Is…
What I’m trying say is that if we desire to grow in God it requires time. Actual chunks of time spend with God. And a lot of chunks. Plus we even need a focus during that time. Like I said, you can’t just get your life in God on the run.
However, there is plenty of time for us to backslide and fall into sin. The days are evil and our flesh is weak.
It’s a difficult paradox to grasp but the nitty gritty of it comes down to the fact that our life in God requires more energy, time and focus than our “not life in God”. We have to be diligent about how we spend our time and especially diligent about how much time we actually spend before the Word, with God in prayer.
Jacob said:
A question that I have been struggling with:
Are we as Christians to have any recreation? If so, how much (and how much is too much)?
Obviously this seems to be a case by case basis. Laying down the good things for the Better One.
What do you thing Shawn?
Posted on August 16, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Jacob said:
and yes…I do realize that in my haste I spelled think “thing”
Posted on August 16, 2007 at 3:22 pm
{Shawn} said:
@ Jacob: Absolutely we are to have recreation and rest.
The issue isn’t should we or shouldn’t we, but what are we doing as our recreation.
I would not count 2 hours of T.V. every night as recreation.
Resting and playing can be and should be done while enjoying God. My advice is to evaluate what you’re doing on a regular basis and see if that is feeding your inner man. If it’s not then cut back. If you feel the grace to give up TV completely then why not? Spend that time doing something else. Being with family, or outside, or reading, etc…
And this is a safe place for typos. I make about one per sentence I think.
Posted on August 16, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Ruth said:
I wonder why I find it so much easier to spend my time checking email, reading blogs, doing everything else but sit and talk with Jesus. it can be hard sometimes to pray even 30 minutes, but when I check my email 60 minutes fly by. reading the word should be way more fun than reading blogs. I don’t understand. maybe I need to ask God to help me delight in His word again.
Posted on August 17, 2007 at 2:30 am
michael1 said:
This post brings a good point.
I have said many times, “man, I find my work just gets in the way!” Of course, we must make a living to support ourselves and family. These things tend to take most of our time indeed.
Effort is needed from us to MAKE/TAKE time to seek our Father, to know Him and be conformed to Him. This is one reason that I stopped writing on my first blog last month…
nice to visit, be well.
Posted on August 17, 2007 at 6:02 am
TCRA » Blog Archive » A Quote From Shawn said:
[…] A Quote From Shawn Written by nick “It’s a difficult paradox to grasp but the nitty gritty of it comes down to the fact that our life in God requires more energy, time and focus than our “not life in God”. We have to be diligent about how we spend our time and especially diligent about how much time we actually spend before the Word, with God in prayer.” -Shawn Blanc […]
Posted on August 19, 2007 at 4:58 pm
theTAGseries: Part 3 (Time) « Matthew Manchester said:
[…] wisely (regarding time) than it does carelessly giving away your life to anything and everything. shawn blanc says in one of his blogs: It’s a difficult paradox to grasp but the nitty gritty of it comes down to the fact that our […]
Posted on August 23, 2007 at 10:20 pm
pattie said:
i think that when we really want to spend more time with God amazing things happens. When i take a special time, to be with God, praying, praising and stuff, it really helps me, makes me feel more confident with myself i mean with God, like i feel good talking with him; i get to know him more and more each day, and making GOOD decisions is what helps us more. Even when it’s difficult.
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Marco said:
I will have to say that i have slipped from the slope into the wrong path.I know im in the wrong path because most of the time in my life I’m just lying, telling bad words, not caring about what my parents say and so. Also just when I need something is when I look for God, and i know thats not good but I just still can’t fix doing that. I would like to spend more time to God because I really dont spend time to Him at all, well just in school, and i know it doesnt has to be like that, that it has to be like spending a lot of time with Him, reading the Biblie, meditating it and trying to know what does He wants for my life.
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Diego Alva said:
That’s true. We need to spend time with God if we wan to grow spiritually. It’s like a plant, it needs to be in the light to grow.
In my case I realy should organize my self, so I can have a daily prayer time and a moment when I can sit dow and read the Bible with dedication.
The reason for me to not doing this (and by “this” I mean the prayer and Bible reading hours)is that I spend too much time doing homework(and I don’t blame my teachers for this), because I take my time doing, things and sometimes I want things to be perfecly done(which takes lots of time), so at the end of the day I have no time left for God nor prayer. I know I need to be more productive and that I should improve my “doing homework” speed. I will work hard on this so that I can have a time to speak to God and reading his word.
That’s all, so I will continue doing my homework, ok? BYEBYE!
P.D: Great article Shawn!
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 6:20 pm
ruben said:
dude you are right, i saw myself when
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 7:01 pm
ruben said:
You are right i saw my self at the last part, when you said that in the timje we spend with God we have to be focused. Many times when i am praying or reading the bible my mind just like goes crazy and starts thinking about everything except, you know, the point. We as christians should understand that we can’t leave without kowing Him and it’s amazing how we(well at least i do this some times)can spend 2- 3 hours or more seeing tv or playin videogames or chating in the computer and it is awfully hard to spend at least 1 hour with God. Dude we need Him.
good article
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Alberto Fanjon said:
I think that this text is telling me to be careful when Satan is trying to change me mid over having a relationship with God. I oviously shouldnt let that happen, and the only way to do that is praying before I do a devotional. I think its very important to spent time reading the bible and praying everyday. And if I pray before reading the bible it will be difficult slipping the slobe
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 7:12 pm
carla santana said:
that’s soooooo truth, growing in God it does really takes time you can’t just read the Bible or just pray, you need to take time to prase Him and love Him:). You can’t just wait seated until the Holly Spirit comes down from the sky and tells you what you must do because we both know it would never happen. So you need to take time knowing Him every single day more, loving
Him, reading the bible and the most important of all.. applying it in your life. And if you do that you’re gonna be really blessed and He is gonna answer to you when you ask Him to.
When i take time to talk to Him i do really feel that He’s there right next to me listenig every single word i say and He answers me, He tells me what can i do so i can solve my problem. He tells me what he would like me to do.. but sometimes we don’t hear when He speaks because we’re so closed in our superficial world worried about what others would say.
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 7:49 pm
alexander said:
Well to be honest, i dont really spend all that time with God, the only time i spend reading the bible or like praying is at school. I know that i should spend time with him but sometimes its hard for me.I think that i should start spending time with him but its hard i mean i really have to try.
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 8:11 pm
patty laredo said:
It is really true what Shawn wrote, it takes time to grow in God. its like a tree, it doesnt grow from the night to morning. Its about to learn how I control my time, i mean, i will have half an hour of reading the Bible, then 20 minutes to pray to God. but its important not to fall in a rutine because its bored and its not the same if you really want to learn more about Him with another actitude. Personally, I need to control my times to make it easier becasue i tend to left the things to the last minute.
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 8:22 pm
fda handall said:
Everything i read its true, i mean.. I know it, but its hard for me to be into God because i have a lot of people around me that don’t even know him, i mean i am not trying to tell you its their fault, of course not. I know it just depends on me, but spending most of my time with people that is not into Him make it pretty difficult.
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 8:59 pm
fda handall said:
is true*
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 9:00 pm
anachris said:
my relationship with God, at first really sucked, it was a fake relation, and I almost never gave Him a time of day to talk to him and until I made the decition to change it, that’s when my life started to change. It is true that we need time to have a real good relatinship with God, and I don’t think its okei qhen people say ohh I’m sorry I don’t have time for this, when you tell then about God’s love. It really sucks because, He is the one that gives you your time, and I have that in mind lately, and honestly since y made the desition to do God’s stuff first that’s when I started to improve, in everything.
I do believe that we should always consider that when we ask God for something it involves time too, we have to wait until He answers and God has His times and we will learn to be patient which is something important in having a realtionship with Him too, so i really believe time and God are things that go together, i loved your blog, well, i’ll rad you later, bye.
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Diego Hernandez said:
First of all i want to say that when i started to be a christian person my relation with God was a religious relationship, i just pray and read the bible even if i didn{t understan anything. Now i dont even have a relationship with Him, i Pray yes but not like a true christian. About growing in God and managing time i think i have to spend more time on that because right now i donot even want to do manage my time with Him. I know that what i am saying is not a very special thing but i am being honest and that what matters, and thats all.
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Gerardo Fanjon said:
I think, time ago, it was easier to believe in God, and to become a believer because Jesus Himself was here, alive on earth acting as one of us (He was different, He is different).
Today, Jesus is here all right, but as a spirit, not visible to our eyes.
I know, I am sure someone more experiences can tell me that I just told a lie and that nowadays it is easy to see or talk to Him, But I do not know a lot about that, honestly.
I mean, I am aware I should know, since He is the creator of creators.
I only have to change mentality.
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 9:24 pm
lorena said:
I think what you wrote, is really true, many times I do see it this way, I know that to be involved in a relationship, you really have to spend time with that person, and open up your heart. You can’t really know or trust someone, when you’ve barely spend time with him like 15 minutes. It’s like when you like someone, you’re always thinking about that person, or wishing that person was with you, or wanting to know his likes or dislikes. TO know all this requires time. I don’t think we should have a limited time for spending time with God, I used to think before, that spending time with God was ALWAYS of feeling the desire to be with him, but sincerely there are times when I am too tired or when i would like to do other things, but it is in me the decision of spending time with Him or not,i think it is really boring when it becomes a routine. For me the most important thing in my life, is having a relationship with God, a real one. And I once heard someone who said she spend even 4 hours a day with God, studying the Bible, praying or simply being with Him. I was in a shock, a good shock, though
because I had been taught that my spending time with God was 2 hours or less and that was that. But now I realize I can spend all the time of the World with him, and being with Him does not always means, being in your room alone reading the bible.
lorena
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 9:24 pm
maggie said:
everything what you wrote its completely true, I know most part of the time I’m not doing correct things. I’ve tried to have a better relationship with God but sometimes it seemed to be so boring to me and it’s easy for me to sin and leave God, but I know that’s satan’s plan. I need to have a good relationship with him just because He’s the only one who I can trust.
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Karen said:
You’re right. Growing in God requires time, and that means, taking time from other things. And it also requires focus! I used to think I could go into God’s presence and sit waiting for Him to do something while I was all distracted. No! It’s a compromise that anyone who wants to know God has to do. Yesterday, I did my schedule and I realized it’s really tight but I’m sure there’s nothing like spending time with God, even if that means staying up late doing homework (I don’t mean every night). When I started spending time with God daily (like a year ago) my life changed in less than a week. God was faithful and when I decided to give Him everything I had, including my time, He started working in my life radically.
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Ana Alicia Malagón said:
Hi Shawn!! Your article is fabouluos! I loved it, what you are explaining is really true. We should undestand that God is not a fast thing. If you really want to get into with him, it takes time. But it´s not only praying or only reading the Bible, it a combination of both and also having in our hearts the desire to love Him and follow his paths!! At first I only read like a routine, but know that I understood God´s purpose everything has changed, my point of view and my dreams; but one thing I can tell you, BEING WITH GOD IS THE BEST THING THAT COULD EVER HAPPEN!!!
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 9:34 pm
michelle Munoz said:
i know exactly what you mean about not being able to be with God “on the run” , and what its like to spend time in darkness. Spending time with God is hard sometimes, well at least for me it is, and it takes plenty of time of time. Sometimes i just want to forget about everything and go back to how i was. But the time i do spend with God is worth every second. It makes me feel so much better, in my times of frustration i can tell him exactly how i feel and even though i don’t feel he’s there sometimes, i know that he is and that it shouldn’t be something i feel but something i believe. The situation I’m in right now is especially hard but something that I’ve been working on is just staying quiet and spending any time available with him, and avoiding situations that i know that lead me to go back to how i was. I’m not saying i do it all the time, but I’m trying so i think that counts for something. And what i’ve learned is that being with him is better than being in the darkness, and its something worth trying.
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Andrea said:
Ok this is a very impresive article. I know that God requires time, not just the time that we dont use for anythng. God should be our first and only place, then everything else falls into its place. Many times its just a problem of organization, but that can be arranged taking a few minutes to make an organized schedule, and follow it.
I know that a realtionship with God its not singing, or praying, or just reading our Bibles. Having a relationship with God means that our ife its gona become a living sacrifice, not doing what we want, but what God wants us to.
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 10:53 pm
daniel said:
I think someone wanting to have a realtionship with God, trying to make his/her time efficient for Godliness, needs to know that it´s not just the hour or 2 hours we spend reading the Bible and praying every day. Yes, it´s good and efficient to grow in the Word and in prayer, thats very important, but it´s the time you spend every single day in every single moment with your God. It´s how you get to know your God, and knowing that you can´t make anything to make Him love you. To spend time with God you need to be very patient, and you NEED to learn to wait. God doesnt speaks when you want Him to. He has his time, and his time is always perfect and exact. He knows whats best, he knows what we need, he has what we need, but we need to be patient and learn to wait.
Bye bye
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 11:53 pm