As a part of our worship, our church focuses on a Psalm each month, combining it with a song to reinforce the truth of it in our minds. In March, we’re reciting Psalm 90, a prayer of Moses in which he recounts the brevity of life and encourages us to “number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (vs.12)

The apostle Paul echoes Moses’ sentiments when he exhorts, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16) Clearly, the Bible teaches that the time we’ve been given by God is a stewardship to be used for His glory. So then, what are some ways we can better steward that precious allotment we call time?

1. Maintain the Temple

The Christian’s body is a temple in that the Spirit of God inhabits our spirit. Failure to take care of ourselves physically will inevitably inhibit our ability to accomplish what we need to get done. An unhealthy body can hinder productivity and increase stress levels. So get enough sleep, eat healthy, and regularly exercise. Numbering your days requires keeping fit so that you don’t get sidelined by illness or anxieties.

2. Set Priorities

Someone has said we have only enough time to do the will of God. If you failed to do something you know God wanted you to do, it’s most likely because you did something you really didn’t have time for. A good steward of time will not waste time, nor fail to guard it. Prioritizing time means saying no to some things so that we can say yes to more important things.

The wisdom Moses spoke about is the ability to effectively divide time between family, work, church, projects, and other personal matters. In this, it is recommended that you get some kind of planning tool and find a system that works for you.

3. Eliminate Distractions

Every single day we’re bombarded by things that distract us and make it more difficult to focus on what we should be doing. In his book Free to Focus, time management guru Michael Hyatt says, “focusing on everything means focusing on nothing. It’s almost impossible to accomplish anything significant when you’re racing through an endless litany of tasks and emergencies.”

This could mean working without any digital devices around that could interrupt you. There are even apps now that block access to sites that waste your time. Eliminating distractions is something you’ll have to do on purpose. Sometimes you need to turn off in order to tune in.

I’ll leave you today with an anonymous quote that I hope encourages you to be a better steward of the time God has given you.

Time is the inexplicable raw material of everything. With it, all is possible; without it, nothing. The supply of time is truly a daily miracle, an affair genuinely astonishing when one examines it. You wake up in the morning, and lo, your purse is magically filled with twenty-four hours of the unmanufactured tissue of the universe of your life! It is yours! It is the most precious of possessions…and we shall never have anymore of it. We have, and we have always had, all the time there is. -Anonymous