A Gift of Time
RISE UP WARRIOR!
My heart is overjoyed to announce that the next RISE UP reveal is coming in less than a month! As the days come closer to announcing this special reveal, my prayer is for these blog posts to minister to your soul and refresh your mind. May God be gracious to you and shine upon you, Warrior.
If there’s one thing God has impressed on my heart lately, it’s that He is never late and never behind schedule. He has always been and will always be, right on time! This past weekend, my family received God’s sweet gift of time with my boyfriend, Troy. Upon his arrival from the peachy state of Georgia, my mom tenderly gifted him a glistening, gold hourglass with fine pebbles of white sand. This hourglass represented God’s sweet gift of time and reminded each of our hearts the importance of how we use our time! (Wisely, with love, laughter, kindness, humility, love, gentleness, self-control, etc.)
While we like to live as if our time on earth is infinite, it isn’t. Our life on earth is temporary with a legacy of kingdom-sized impact! Life is a beautiful blessing from God and gives us the opportunity to be the salt and light of God’s Word, to love and be loved, to serve without expecting anything in return, to help those around us, to sharpen our loved ones like Proverbs 27:17 tells us, and to RISE UP as God’s sons and daughters! Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 talks about the mystery of time, how there is a season for every activity under Heaven. These verses read:
There is an occasion for everything,
and a time for every activity under heaven:
a time to give birth and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to uproot;
a time to kill and a time to heal;
a time to tear down and a time to build;
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance;
a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing;
a time to search and a time to count as lost;
a time to keep and a time to throw away;
a time to tear and a time to sew;
a time to be silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.
The mystery of time is something we often think about, because we’re wired to long for understanding in the things we can’t fully comprehend. Thoughts like “How long, what if, and when” dance across our heart to our mind in the mystery of time. Warrior, we aren’t meant to understand the ins and outs of time, just the One who gave it to us, God!
There will be seasons of life we sing and dance in praise for the goodness of God. There will be moments we long for understanding, pray for healing, and mourn for those we love. There will be moments we soar in our God-given gifts and moments we fail forward. While all of these moments of time impact our heart, mind, and life in different ways, one thing remains, our King. It’s time to RISE UP WARRIOR because God is the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever! God’s gift of time is a BLESSING! Let’s RISE UP WARRIOR and receive God’s gift of time with open arms as we honor and Praise Jesus, through every emotion we feel and spiritual season we walk through.
When anxiety, fear, doubt, for overwhelming thoughts of time try to intrude your mind, RISE UP WARRIOR and take them captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ! Anxiety is a liar, fear is a liar, doubt is a liar, and overwhelming attacks on your spirit and mind is a liar! Instead of feeling overwhelmed on how to plan out your time, look to Jesus and breathe. Psalm 103:15-19 tells us…
As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children's children,
to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.
As we open our Bibles and dwell in the presence of God, our soul will find peace in God’s gift of time. God’s everlasting, tender, and all consuming love is what enables us to live a life of impact and legacy of blessings for His glory. God’s gift of time is beautiful, vulnerable, precious, and is meant to be used wisely. As we RISE UP as God’s sons and daughters, we will steward our time, cherish our memories, and RAISE UP believers all over the world.
So, as you go about your week, I want to encourage you to RISE UP WARRIOR and think about how you steward your time. Find balance, peace, and opportunity to steward your time for the glory of God. For you, Warrior, are created for such a time as this.
-Jessica-Andrea Brown
