The Pressure Of Time 3

One day a man was about to be killed. He has worked so hard in his career and is seen as being better than most of his contemporaries. The whole career and pursuit were about to be over and I believe other people that passed law school with him were still practicing at that time. This guy was about to be killed like a criminal, he was about to end his career in a way that most people will never want to end. But just before the execution he said something that completely challenges our traditional idea of success and time. To overcome the pressures of life, especially the pressure of time, we must develop this kind of mindset.

Most people look at life as what happens in the next 5 years. To others, it is what happens in the next 50 years. Few others could also see life as what happens in the next 100 years. The longer our idea of time is, the more likely we are going to make the right decision daily. If you see life as what happens in the next 5 years, you're likely to be overly anxious about time and may be compelled to do wrong things to meet up. Even if you're seeing life as what happens in the next 100 years, you may be actually shortsighted as your life goes far beyond 100 years. Your life transcends time.

The man in our opening paragraph is Paul the apostle. As Paul was about to be killed, he was not troubled about his life. He knew that was not really his end. He knew life goes beyond time. He knew he had made a decision that guarantees him to hope that can never be destroyed by time. One of his last words reads, 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day'and not only to me but to all who crave His appearing' (2 Timothy 4:7-8). When others were seeing his end, and saying, 'Is this how this man's career ended', he was seeing life beyond time. He knew, what men call the end of life is not really the end.

The day you start putting eternity into consideration is the day your approach to time will completely change. When the disciples of Jesus were worried about what will become of them if Jesus dies. They were troubled, but Jesus didn't address their immediate concern, instead, he pointed them to the future. He told them, 'Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well. In My Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? (John 14:1-2). Jesus knew that the best way to deal with the pressure of time is to see beyond time. In the face of difficulties, you need to see beyond time. HE WILL WIPE AWAY YOUR TEARS!

With this kind of mindset, nothing can possibly beat you. NOT TIME, NOT LIFE, NOT DEATH, NOTHING!. Paul has left us with one of the most important words we should remember while dealing with time pressure: 'If your hope ends with 'time', you are of all men most miserable' (1 Corinthians 15:19). Let your hope transcend time!

(In part 4, we will be looking at the flip side of the coin. Please look forward to it)