Redeeming the time

Ephesians 5:15 ‘See then that you live alert to what is going on, not as thoughtless but mindful and wise, 16 redeeming the (lost) time, because the times are dangerous and unsafe. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

The word used for ‘time’ here is kairos – God’s appointed time, not chronos – Clock time. The word used for ‘will of The Lord’ – thelema - God’s purpose/meaning your life. (Rom 12:2) Unfortunately the human mind feels more at home with clock time.

Redeeming time means that God is able to restore time that appears to have been lost. That includes time you think has been wasted, effort that has come to nothing, and dashed hopes. God can redeem all things, buy back all his plans and purposes for us and get us on track with his desire for our future blessing. He won’t necessarily bring the same circumstances back, or the same people or the same events. It means new and better opportunities ahead for a life of meaning and purpose.

Faith is not faith unless it is in what God can do in his goodness and determined desire to have his best for us. God is more interested than we are in our welfare

Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Behold, I received command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. He has not seen futility in what has happened to you nor does he regard you as a failure. Redeeming time can only really happen at the present time. If we have to put it off till we feel better about it, all we are doing is wasting more time. It requires a ‘now faith’ consciousness. John 4:34 … Fields white for the harvest. John 4:23 … Hour is coming and now is.

So the world really stands still and isn’t going anywhere. Only God is moving forward with his story, his plan – and that plan includes our lives! There is an energy that directs us, and carries us forward, even though we cannot see where it is taking us. Jesus has blessed us, and he intends to bless us with every spiritual blessing there is in his heavenly world. When we hear the word of truth through him and are awakened to faith through him, the change in us is as thorough as it could possibly be.

With this kind of faith we see this present world chaos and disorder fall away beneath us, as our faith reorders all things, while our independence and anxiety fall away with it. That is Time Redemption.

Psalm 139:1. O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know everything I do. 4.You know what I am going to say even before I say it. 5. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. 6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! 16. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 17. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 18. I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me