How would you describe your time management skills? Maybe you’re frantic getting out the door because you’re running late and misplacing things. Maybe you’re pushing hard at the last minute on your school or work deadlines because you’re overcommitted and under prepared. Perhaps you’re feeling perpetually tired and wondering if you’re burnt out.
On the other hand, some of you are already making detailed plans about next summer.
In the summer 2026, I was scheduled to teach a seminar on the topic of time management even as I struggled through the end of the spring semester, limping to the finish line of another marathon in campus ministry. One Thursday night, I came home after working on campus all day trying to prepare my seminar material, helped to put my five kids to bed, and then realized we needed a few items for the next morning. In the interest of time, I opted for the closest convenience store instead of making the drive to the grocery store.
When I got to the counter with my items, the attendant — with whom I’ve chatted before — looked at me and became very animated.
“Hey BUDDY, are you very tired? You look very tired!”
Somewhat sheepishly I answered, “Yeah, I am very tired. It’s been a long week.”
And he replied again, “Ahh, I see; because you look really tired.”
The struggle is real! Here I was about to teach a seminar on time management, and I was so visibly run down and ragged that even the gas station attendant was willing to call me out on it.
God cares about how you relate to time and steward it. After laying the foundation of what God has done for us in Ephesians 1-3, the apostle Paul continues to apply that grace to our daily lives in Ephesians 5:15-17: “Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is” (NIV). Although there is no one-size-fits-all solution to time management, we can all benefit from pausing to reflect and pray about how we steward the time God has given us.
Turning Back the Hands of Time
Psalm 8 provides a biblical snapshot of God’s creational purposes for you, your gifts, and his gift of time:
“Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:5-6).
From the beginning, God created us in his image to be in relationship with him and others, and to use our gifts to steward and cultivate his world.
It is a gift that is both dignifying and humbling: Dignifying because you matter as an image bearer, and so does everyone else! Humbling, because people are also small compared to the vastness of creation and ultimately the vastness of God’s majesty.
You matter; you’re small; and (following God’s pattern) you were made for weekly rest and worship.
Yet you know as surely as I do that we are not living in Eden. Our experiences relating to time are more like the tired me who showed up to the convenience store than they are like early Eden.
Distorting Time
Time is like money. We spend it on things we value. When we value things above God, we invest our time in them, and it has real consequences.
1 Kings 11 is one biblical case study in how idolatry is destructive: “And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded” (1 Kings 11:9-10).
Solomon’s stewardship of time and decision-making had real effects on his life. He used his time to get trapped in sinful relationships as he found himself less attracted to God’s commands and more attracted to women from different religious backgrounds. He was divided within himself rather than being in a wholehearted relationship to God.
As a result of Solomon’s divided time and allegiance, God swore to divide the kingdom of Israel and tear away most of it from Solomon’s son to give to another leader (1 Kings 11:11-13).
What does it mean to value something above God? According to Martin Luther, “It means to trust in and rely on something or someone wholeheartedly to help us in times of need and to give us all good things.”
We are all like Solomon, drawn to things that demand our time and energy but pull us away from our first love. The Bible calls these idols.
What are the heart idols currently distorting your relationship with time and purpose? We can make an idol out of anything: a person, your job, a desire (greed, fame, acceptance, etc.). We can even make idols out of good things, like Bible studies, discipleship, and service, whether out of a fear of letting others down, wanting to be the hero, or feeling like we need to meet a quota of religious actions.
Time reveals our idols. We spend our time thinking about things we desire. Like Solomon, our distorted desires lead to a distorted use of our time.
A New Relationship and New Rhythms
Thankfully, God does not leave us stuck in our idolatrous patterns and distortions of time. He gives grace upon grace! Through ongoing repentance and rest in the gospel, identifying rhythms of work and rest and priorities to guide them can help you steward your time wisely while pursuing God’s purposes. Jesus says we can stop striving and start resting.
This gospel renewal begins with returning to the reality that Jesus brings transforming rest from the penalty and the power of our heart idols. He can renew you from overwork to live a life more rooted in his rest.
In his excellent book, “What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done,” Matt Perman writes, “The doctrine of justification frees us to serve our neighbor because we no longer have to worry about our acceptance before God.”
The Jesus of Matthew 11:25-30 inviting us into his ongoing rest is also the reigning Jesus who restores and refashions our Psalm 8 purpose (Hebrews 2:6-9; Ephesians 4:7-16). Freed by Jesus in justification, and returning to the Jesus who in his transforming power can free your heart from its idols, you can learn to live with purpose as you steward your time in ways that reflect the gospel.
What might it look like to practically apply this in a typical day or week? Here are some suggestions:
1) Prayerfully embrace daily rhythms. Repent and rest in the gospel (Romans 12:1-2). But it’s also good to establish goals that shape how you use your time. Set daily goals across domains of your life (spiritual, relational, vocational, recreational, etc.).
When all else fails, use this question: “What is the best thing to do now?” (Perman, 139)
2) Prayerfully embrace weekly rhythms. Worship and rest. Embrace the Sabbath as a weekly check-up for your soul and your priorities. The Sabbath is your rest stop for coming to Jesus with your weakness and seeking his wisdom. In this way, the Sabbath counteracts burnout and allows you to bring your burdens to Jesus.
My conversation with the convenience store clerk was a mirror God used to help me see patterns of busyness and fatigue I had ignored in my own life. In his kindness, God moved me to return to Jesus and his rest in a fresh way, and to re-evaluate my recent rhythms of life.
If you know Jesus, your ultimate purpose is set: to belong to him, trust him, and follow him. Whether you’re tired, confused, or encouraged in your current relationship with time, prayerfully pursue living with purpose as you keep returning to Jesus and his love for you.
Josh Grimm is the Reformed University Fellowship campus minister for Queens University of Charlotte.