by Marvin R. Knight

“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1

Introduction:

History records that the noted botanist, Linnaeus, once created a clock made of flowers. Each bloom opened in turn at a set time of the day. In a similar way, God has beautifully ordered everything in the garden of life. It is this orderliness of creation which inspired Solomon the preacher to affirm, “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.” The Word of God teaches that God is the great architect of time; He has made everything for His purposes and in His timing.

The third chapter of Ecclesiastes is written to affirm that doctrine. The striking truth of this passage is that God, and God alone, controls the clock of time and the events of history. Two facts present themselves in our text: fact number one—God alone regulates time and fact number two—God alone relegates time.To regulate time means to control it and to direct it according to His requirements. To relegate time means to assign it to a particular group or person for a particular purpose. If we would understand the meaning of time and of destiny, we must examine these two facts presented in this text.

• Benjamin Franklin—“You may delay, but time will not.”
• Cliff Cole—“Procrastination is not only the thief of time, but it clutters up our lives with half-done things and with slovenly habits. He who waits to do a great deal of good at once will never do anything. Life is made up of little things.”
• J.C.  Ryle—“Satan cares not how spiritual your intentions, or how holy your resolutions, if only they are fixed for Tomorrow.”

To address the issue of procrastination biblically, we must dig down and find the root cause or step back and see the real issue. So let us consider first, understanding procrastination, and then second, overcoming procrastination.

Understanding procrastination

A simple dictionary definition of procrastination means “to postpone action.” And there are times when postponing certain actions are unavoidable. But there are other times when this postponing is self-imposed. In other words, we postpone certain things because we have distractions in life, different priorities, or impulsiveness. Frances Rodman once said, “Always put off until tomorrow the things you shouldn’t do at all.”

But what we are concerned about now is what the Bible says about procrastination. Well, the Bible says nothing about procrastination directly, but the doctrine that underlines this issue of procrastination is the issue of time. How do we understand time?

This is what the Word of God teaches:

1. Time is a sovereign gift of God for man. (Gen.1:1; Rev.19)

The Word of God plainly teaches that time is a human concept in which we operate, but God is not subject to time. God is eternal, with no beginning and no end. And since God created the time in which we operate, then the biblical perspective of time is that it is a gift of God.

In verse 11, Solomon tells us that God “…made everything appropriate [beautiful] in its time.” This means that God sovereignly determined your time and all time. When it pleased Him in eternity past, He spoke out of eternity and said, “Let there be…and time began (Gen.1). And at some point in the future, God will speak again, and time will be no more.

• Man has nothing to do with time—its origin, its speed, or its completion.
• God arranges everything and orders everything in time.

2. Time is a precious commodity. (Eph.5:15-16)

In verse 14, Solomon adds“I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him.” Again, we have nothing to do with time. Its beginning, its duration, and its termination are totally outside of our control. This means that we ought to see time not only as a gift from God, but as a precious commodity.

The saintly pastor, Robert Murray McCheyne, wrote in his diary, “My heart must break from all these things. What right have I to steal and abuse my Master’s time? The word ‘redeem’ is crying to me.” McCheyne heard the voice of the Savior speaking to him from Ephesians 5:15-16, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”

REDEEM—this key word explains what the believer’s attitude is to be as we think about time. Redeem. The word itself comes out of and places us into the market square of life. It conveys the picture of time being put up for auction. There are many people bidding for it and it is our duty to “redeem” it, or to “buy” it for ourselves. Why? In order that we might put it into service for the King, the Lord Jesus. But we must beware—and be on the alert because there are others who might put their bid in before you.

Since God sovereignly determines time, we must be committed to redeem it for His glory. Thomas Stebbins once noted that “Whether our name is Billy Graham or John Doe, each of us receives an equal allotment of 168 hours per week. The difference is how we spend it. None of us would throw away bits of money—dimes, nickels, pennies—but all of us are guilty of throwing away five minutes here or a quarter of an hour there in our ordinary day.”

3. Time has a purpose in the plan of God. (Eccl.3:1)

When Solomon said in verse 1, “There is an appointed time for everything...” what did he mean? He meant that time is regulated and relegated to fulfill God’s purposes or pleasures. And the Bible teaches that God’s purposes on this planet are twofold:

God has a creative purpose—to show forth His glory (Ps.19:1); however, “…through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom.5:12). And so God’s answer to the decay of God’s creative purpose is His redemptive purpose. At the center of God’s redemptive purpose is the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, “…I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). After man’s greatest minds failed, after man’s greatest philosophies failed, after man’s greatest attempts at Utopia failed, “…when the fullness of time came, God send forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law…” (Gal.4:4-5).

Jesus came to reveal God’s love. Jesus came to pay man’s debt for sin. Jesus came to take away our sins. It was there on Calvary that my sin debt and your sin debt were laid on Him. And by His stripes we are healed of sin’s curse and disease. Reconciliation with God is purchased. Eternal life can be secured. And power for living a productive and fruitful life is possible through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Overcoming procrastination

A recent University of Wisconsin survey revealed that the average person will spend at least three years of his lifetime just waiting. And yet, only one out of eight people have a plan to deal with waiting time. How do we overcome wasted time? How do we overcome procrastination?

1. Understand the revealed will of God. (Eph.5:15-17)

• John 6:40—That you be saved
• 1 Thessalonians 4:3—That you be sanctified or set apart in moral purity
• 1 Thessalonians 5:18—That you be thankful in all things
• 1 Peter 2:13-15—That you submit to governing civil and spiritual authority
• 1 Peter 4:14-16, 19—That you suffer for righteousness’ sake

2. Practice living a Spirit-filled life—a life lived in the flesh is an unproductive, procrastinating life; but a life that comes under the authority of God’s Word receives the enabling power of God’s Spirit so that we live a productive, fruitful life.
3. Pursue your priorities—it is all too easy to let the urgent crowd out the important, and then allow the important to crowd out the imperative; then both the important and the imperative get postponed altogether. The only way to avoid this is to have a plan: a short-term and a long-term plan. Answer these questions: How would I like to spend the next year or two? Press it further by asking: If I knew I would be struck down by lightning six months from today, how would I live until then?

Conclusion:

I ran across a poem by Roselyn C. Steere that sums up this issue and applies it to our hearts:

Someday—I’m going down the street
And sit and chat with one whose feet
Have had to pause and rest awhile
Before they travel that last mile;
Well—someday.

Someday—A cake or pie I’ll bake
And with a cheery smile I’ll take
It to a home where there is need;
Just folks, of quite another creed;
Well—someday.

Someday—a letter I will send
To that distant, lonely friend;
I’ll tell her every little thing
That will joy and comfort bring;
Well—someday.

Someday—a quiet place I’ll seek
Where I can hear my Father speak,
Where I can listen undisturbed
To His precious guiding Word;
Someday.

Someday—I’ll surely take the time
To tell some soul of love divine,
Of salvation full and free,
Meant for them as well as me;
Someday.

Someday—I said it long ago.
The days slip by, and well I know
“Someday” will never come until
Today bends to my Father’s will.
Why not today?