Yes, You Can Beat the Clock!
But productivity tips aren’t the answer
When I leave water aerobics class, I walk up a set of three steps, meander around a small path in front of the community center, head straight down the cement walkway to the street parking, and turn right down the sidewalk to my truck. I really don’t mind the short walk to my vehicle, yet my productivity programmed mind says Mary, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. It would be quicker if you cut across the grass to your truck. And sometimes I do.
When I choose the shortcut, I wonder how much time did I just save? A second, maybe two? It’s ludicrous when you think about it, yet that’s me when I’m living in chronos time.
You see chronos time (more on that in a second) is the world’s time but it’s the process that matters to God, not the outcome. We are outcome-based, productivity-programmed, and focused on end results. We care about winners and losers, final results, arriving, and saving time.
God is concerned with how we travel through the process, where our hearts and minds are right now, and if we can trust Him with the outcome.
God is a backroad traveler; we’re looking for the fastest way to get from point A to point B. I’m learning to be a backroad traveler as God’s been teaching me about a different time — His time — called kairos time.
Living in kairos time requires trust
Ecclesiastes chapter three talks about kairos time, which by definition is a season, a state, a moment, a gift, or a window of opportunity.
Take this time to heal, we say. Or this season is for you, or things like use this time to your advantage, or I’m in a season of transition. These times and seasons have no hard and fast end dates. They are not punctuated by the calendar.
Kairos time differs from chronos time which is where we get our word for chronological. Time marches on, we run out of time, we are in a race against time, time flies. Chronos is the time the world tallies but kairos time is the time God counts.
Chronos time is characterized by the Greeks as the god Chronos who is often depicted devouring everything and everyone and never being satisfied. It sounds an awful lot like the way many of us live; the way I’m tempted to live when I forget God’s greater purpose for my life.
In the flesh (or in my own strength) I worry that I’m not using my time efficiently. I pace myself to make the most of my days, distasteful of wasted time. I fret when I think of missed opportunities or bad timing and I rehash mistakes from the past, vowing to make better decisions going forward, to seize the day and use my time more wisely.
Recently, we had a house deal fall through. At the 11th hour, our buyer had to pull out of the contract and we’re back at square one. Now I find myself fretting about the best time to sell a house, how people won’t look at a house that’s been on the market over 90 days, and then I nurse worries about the future, rumors of a 2020 recession and a dip in the housing market. I follow that up with a nice dose of regret and rehash the time we lost a lot of money trying to sell a house during the housing crisis of 2007–09. And I stress out trying to live in chronos time.
Taking a deep breath and remembering that God’s not interested in what’s happening around and outside of me, I seek to enter kairos time. I close my eyes and try to remember what’s most important in life and surrender myself to his will.
Live in the moment, live in the season
According to Ecclesiastes chapter three, there is a kairos time for everything and it’s not the kind of time the world marks. You’ve heard the expression that God “redeems the time” when we surrender our days to Him? Have you ever anticipated a stress-filled, busy day that turned out smoother than expected after you handed your cares over to God?
We’ve all experienced the opposite — a day where we tried to beat the clock, cram too much into one day — and found ourselves overwhelmed with responsibility and demands. That’s the striving existence of a life lived in chronos time.
I sanctify time by being present and content in each moment.
How God redeems our time is a mystery I don't pretend to have a theological explanation for, all I know is that He makes the impossible possible. He stretches time, He compounds our energy, and He imbues us with His power.
Kairos time stands outside of chronos time the way the Kingdom of God stands outside the boundaries of the world’s kingdom. But it’s only in His Spirit that we can experience kairos time.
“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26, NKJV)
The Bible is full of examples for us to take courage from when we’re tempted to think that chronos time has us by the tail.
Sarah and Abraham — too old even by biblical standards to have a child — surely knew that chronos time had outsmarted them, yet God had a different idea about what was possible.
“By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant, old woman as she was at the time, because she believed the One who made a promise would do what he said.” (Hebrews 11:11, MSG)
Joshua knew logic and manpower would never defeat all of Israel’s enemies, he needed more than what was humanly possible.
“The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!” (Joshua 10:14 , NIV)
I don’t mind if you take these stories literally or figuratively, it doesn't matter to make the point that time in God’s hands is different than time in our hands. His ways are beyond our ways (Isaiah 55:9)and only by entering into faith with Him can we experience the type of day to day miracles that kairos time provides.
Time placed in God’s hands is never wasted
God is not constrained by our time management system and He’s not limited by what we see with our eyes. He operates in kairos time and when we trust Him with our days, our lives, our years, our hopes and dreams, we can live in kairos time too. It’s a gift of grace.
God speeds up time when He needs to and slows time down when He wants. He accelerates your learning and growth in Him no matter how or when you choose to surrender your life to Him. He restores the years the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:25) and does in the span of hours and days what we thought would take months and years.
The movie, I Can Only Imagine, tells the story of Bart Millard, lead singer of the band Mercy Me who suffered abuse at the hands of his father. Seeing no hope of a restored relationship, Bart left home to pursue a musical career. Upon hearing that his dad had been diagnosed with cancer and only had a short time to live, he returned to see his father for what he thought was the last time. What Bart didn’t know is that God was about to give him the gift of kairos time.
While the world would have advised Bart to say his goodbyes and get back on the road touring to take advantage of the momentum the band had been gaining, God had a different plan for Bart’s time.
Bart stayed with his father who had recently confessed faith in God and asked for Bart’s forgiveness. For the few months that remained of his father’s life on earth, Bart experienced kairos time, a season of redemption that only God could orchestrate. He watched his father change before his eyes in a way that time or family counseling could never accomplish.
It’s a gift to enter into kairos time but it’s not reserved for those receiving a diagnosis of terminal illness or a Hebrew patriarch of biblical times. It’s God’s Spirit living in and among us in a world that can only see chronos time.
The world says This is going to take a long time to fix. God says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10, NIV)
The world says You’ve wasted so much time, what can you expect from life now? God says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isaiah 43:18–19, NIV)
The world says We’re running out of time to make a difference, to see change. God says, “What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do.” (Isaiah 46:11, NIV)
How should we respond to this grace of kairos time?
Choose to be present in the moment. Live for what is, not what you want life to be. Trust God with your future even when it feels like your life has been put on hold.
“The truly purposeful have an ironic secret: they manage time less and pay attention more.” — Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God
Open your mind and heart to possibilities; don’t limit God. His work can be accomplished in any time frame He chooses. Pray to see His hand at work even when your patience or abilities stunt your faith.
“If I could open my hands, then all that fell from them might flower on the way down.” — Brabara Brown Taylor
Say yes to kairos time. When given an opportunity like Bart had with his father, trust that God will redeem the time. If you put your career on hold to raise children, be assured that God holds all that time in His hands and your life will be richer for it. Dare to believe that God has much more in store for you than you can ever ask, think, or imagine.
“In life, as in fairy tales, the treasure always lies just beyond safety, and only the daring ever attempt the journey.” — Barbara Stanny
Rebuke the devourer — Chronos. Refuse to give in to fear, choose life in kairos time and ignore the lies of the world that shouts at you to hustle, move forward, make it happen, and be productive.
“The end of striving makes room for dwelling.” — Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God
Take the backroads and remember that the shortest distance between two points may be a straight line but the shortest distance to God is surrender.
In a world that sacrifices too much to the god Chronos, I’m all about making safe havens for women to reclaim space and begin to see the possibilities of kairos time. Won’t you join me? Simple Life Simple Faith.
This story is published in Koinonia — stories by Christians to encourage, entertain, and empower you in your faith, food, fitness, family, and fun.
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