The disciples interrupted the people from taking Jesus' time when He was blessing the children because they assumed He was too busy for them (cf. Matt. 19:14, KJV: "... [Suffer] the little children to come unto me..."). Jesus doesn't see interruptions--but only opportunities. Everything is Father-filtered! How you handle these are a test of your patience! God's timing is always perfect and He is the Author of time and "[our] times are in [His] hands," according to Psalm 31:15. Our future, then it is in His hands and He has no Plan B, as it were. We can frustrate our plans and they may never come to fruition, but God cannot be thwarted and will not fail; however, we are on the winning side and are in solidarity with Christ or in Christ.
The greatest obstacle to God's will is our will, it has been said. When we walk in step with the Spirit things go according to the glory of God and He is glorified through us; we must learn to walk with God like Enoch and Noah did. There is ample and adequate reason for everything that happens during our day and God has a time and purpose for every occasion in God's creation and under the sun, or so it says in Ecclesiastes. NB: It's only because man has the precious gift of time consciousness and can anticipate the future and remember the past that he has the side effects of worrying about the future and regretting the past--two notorious time thieves!
We can do many things with our time: We can invest it to bring dividends from God-like in spiritual ventures; we can spend it on profitable enterprises and things of extrinsic value; we can gain an intrinsic reward from the saving of time (what a joy!) by prioritizing what is important to God, not us; we can also spend our time on things of intrinsic worth like those that are edifying, educational, and inspiring; we can even waste time by killing it and doing nothing notable with it worth remembering and we may even regret doing; we can do nothing with our time because of boredom or sloth, but there is always something to do if we are willing to do it; we enjoy time the most when we learn to spend it serving others as Jesus said in Mark 10:45 (ESV): "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and give his life a ransom for many."
The happiest people are too busy thinking about others that they never wonder about their own happiness (it makes them happy to see others happy!). I believe there will always be downtime as a test of our ingenuity with redeeming the time (biblically commanded), and finding out what we're made of, and this will always be a challenge of our character. Chuck Colson relates a story of a convict who refused to have a TV in his cell because he felt you could waste a lot of time watching it.
But we will be held accountable for the time allotted us at the Judgment Seat of Christ (bema), and we should be"redeeming the time," according to Paul, because "the days are evil." Time is precious, we will never get back lost opportunities or time wasted. "An idle hand is the devil's workshop!" As they say, carpe diem, or seize the day! The best overall use of time is to make it into something that will outlast you, or that is bigger than you! The only way to do this is to realize your potential in God's kingdom and learn to do "kingdom living." We are not wealth builders, but kingdom builders. Day by day we learn to discipline ourselves into time management and the precious use of the opportunities God grants us by grace. The worse use of time: Regret and worry (looking back or ahead!). They say that worry is the interest you pay on a debt you don't owe. God can free us from regret and guilt by giving us a clean conscience and reason to go on living. He wipes the slate clean and gives us a fresh lease on life with a new start with Christ in control as our autopilot.
How much time you think you have depends on how big your God is, or if your world is too big for your God? and how much time you believe He gives you. God will never overwhelm you, but only gives you a yoke and burden you can manage. Jesus said: "My yoke is easy, My burden is light" (cf. Matt. 11:30). "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you," according to Isaiah 43:2 (ESV). We can handle whatever God can throw at us if we are willing and obedient through the power of the Holy Spirit ( Philippians 4:13; 2:13; Heb. 13:21; Col. 1:29; Isa. 26:12; Romans 15:18). We can also handle whatever the world can dish out with the aid of God being with us through the rivers of life.
Busyness in itself is not a virtue! (This is no excuse!) It is good to be busy, but this is not synonymous! If you have priorities you always have time for God and the Lord's work--this is what we're living for. When you have a purpose you have the motivation to work hard ("Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might," says Eccl. 10:11, ESV). Work is meant to be a blessing and we demonstrate the image of God when we work; even God is at work! Adam worked and it is not a curse; we can all find inner meaning in it: Bro. Lawrence, a monk, wrote a book, The Practice of the Presence of God, in which he prayed all day as he washed dishes for the Lord in a 16th-century monastery.
There is a difference between being too busy and keeping busy: Jesus was never too busy, though he kept busy and productive with His time, except when He needed R & R because He was human and got tired and exhausted, too: He never wasted time, though! There's a difference between being lazy and tired and needing a break from the routine with some downtime.
Rick Warren says: The number one enemy of kindness is busyness. How often we say, 'I am just too busy. I don't have time to get involved. It might mess up my schedule or agenda. I have my priorities and pressures to think about. I am too busy to fix a meal for my sick neighbor ... I am too busy...." Christ's opportunities may come when we are busy to see if we have time for Him and He knocks on our door. That opportunity may never come again! Interruptions are just reminders that we are not in control of the situation, but God is sovereign over our time and has the best intention in mind for us.
If you realize you are called to do something you want to do, you are motivated to do your best and not be slack. A new mother soon realizes that her time is not her own! We are all realizing our potential and no one has arrived yet, we are all "works in progress!" But being a "work-a-holic" is not necessarily good because we are meant to enjoy our lives too and not be all work and no play. What you enjoy may be your calling in life and work can be a calling but there is more to life than work. You can work yourself sick or to a mental or emotional disorder, and even end up in a mental hospital or lose sanity--God has decreed us to get our rest as a principle in the Sabbath. We all need R & R on occasion and need to have our "fun" or whatever is fun to us. It is a blessing to know what you enjoy doing and to enjoy doing it, no matter how much time it consumes.
If the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy, I've read somewhere, and I affirm this adage. It's too easy to get into the habit of putting off spiritual things (even on Sunday, of all days--the Lord's day), and thinking only of our own advantage and pleasure or interests. We don't want to become sluggards or slothful but to be hardworking believers who demonstrate the Christian work ethic and become productive citizens who give back to society--not just receiving its benefits pro bono. God gives us the power to be productive in His kingdom, not necessarily in the world, though--which may despise us.
It is not true that you be so heavenly minded you are no earthly good unless you mean being irresponsible and slothful, but this depends upon your definitions of the terminology. We can make things happen and do God's work, which is more important than our work and should always have preeminent importance. The more dedicated you are to putting God first and prioritizing Him, the more time you will be able to redeem for Him and His work and you don't find the time, you make time.
We will be accountable for all the opportunities, time, resources, money, skills, talents, and blessings God has bestowed on us because nothing belongs to us--we are just stewards of God. In short, we should proclaim boldly: "I'm never too busy for the Lord or the Lord's work!" Caveat: There is a curse on him who does the Lord's work with slackness in Jeremiah 48:10.
These verses are relevant: Whatever we do, we find to do we should do with all our might and as unto the Lord and to His glory per Scripture admonition. "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men" (Col. 3:23, ESV). "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus...." (Col. 3:17, ESV). "..."Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31, ESV). "Making the best use [redeeming] of the time, because the days are evil" (Eph. 5:16, ESV). Soli Deo Gloria!
