Ephesians 5:16
"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."
Time is one of the most precious commodities a person has. Once it is gone you cannot get it back. Sadly, most people don't make the most of the time they have. Time is wasted, and many people regret not using their time wisely in the later years of life. God gives us advice on how to make the most of our time.
First, all time is precious. God commands us to redeem our time, because all time is precious. Time is not just made up of years, months and days, but time is also made up of hours, minutes and seconds. We often understand the importance of not wasting our days, but we should also understand the importance of not wasting our minutes and even seconds. Seconds make up minutes. Minutes make up hours. Hours make up days. Days make up months, and months make up years. It all starts with using every second in life wisely. When you start thinking that seconds don't mean much, then you start losing time. If you are going to use time wisely, then you must use all time wisely, including every second.
Second, living by schedule captures your time. One of the definitions of "redeeming" is to capture. The way to keep yourself from wasting time is to live by schedule. You must have a daily schedule or the seconds and minutes will fly by being wasted. If you want to make the most of your time, then you need to come up with a daily and weekly schedule that dictates what you do with your time. Your weekly schedule will dictate what projects you do on each day, but your daily schedule will tell you how to fill each day.
Third, you make the most of your time by living right. God says in verse 15, "See then that ye walk circumspectly..." In other words, living a righteous life will help you to make the most of your time. Sin is a time waster. Sin takes the time you could have used doing right and wastes not just the present, but also your future. Sin robs your future by robbing your potential. Every time a person lives a life of sin, its consequences keep them from doing what they were supposed to do; thus, they have not made the most of their time. You will find that if you do right all the time that you will never look back wishing you could do it all over again to right the wrongs in your life.
Fourth, living in God's will helps you to make the most of your time. Verse 17 says, "...understanding what the will of the Lord is." You were made to do something specifically for God. Find God's will for your life and do it so that your time is used to its fullest capacity. When you live in God's will, you will not waste time doing things that have nothing to do with your reason for existence.
Fifth, you will never make the most of your time without being filled with the Spirit. Verse 18 commands us to be "filled with the Spirit." The Holy Spirit will literally multiply what you do with the time you have. This is why it's important that you yield yourself daily to the Holy Spirit of God. Don't waste one second trying to do God's will in the flesh. God's will helps you maximize the time you have.
Friend, time comes and goes quickly. Don't waste your time, but make the most of the time you have on this Earth. Making the most of your time will keep you from having regrets later in life.