Make Your Time Alone With God A Priority (Margins #2)

Make Your Time Alone With God A Priority (Margins #2) | Dr. Larry Baucom, Dr. Troy Doucet | October 19, 2025

Central Theme:

Modern life leaves little room for rest, reflection, or renewal. True discipleship requires creating margins, the spiritual and emotional space between our limits and our capacity, so we can live wisely, trust God deeply, and prioritize what truly matters.

I. Once we realize that our days are numbered, we change our lives.

(Psalm 90:12; Job 14:5)

Dr. Baucom:

Margin is the “extra”, the space that keeps life from running off the page. Yet we often live without it, allowing the urgent to crowd out the important. We forget that our time is finite. Every week, every season, every life comes to an end; time can’t be saved, only spent. Wisdom begins when we accept that our days are numbered.

Illustration:

A man turning fifty filled a jar with 1,300 marbles, one for each Saturday left if he lived to seventy-five. Each week, he threw one away, learning to live intentionally because his days were limited.

Dr. Doucet:

Understanding the limits of time forms a theology of trust. Busyness often disguises unbelief, our attempt to control outcomes rather than trust God. Rest and margin become acts of faith, declaring, “God is still working, even when I’m not.”

In a culture that glorifies hustle, rest becomes worship, our declaration that we believe God holds the world together, not us. This draws on the wisdom of sabbath rest.

Key Insight:

Realizing our time is limited changes how we live. Margin is not weakness; it’s trust in God’s sovereignty.

II. Prioritize in light of the fact that our days are limited.

(Ephesians 5:15–17)

Dr. Baucom:

Once we understand that time is short, we must choose wisely how to use it. Wisdom means asking, “Is this the best thing to do?”, not just, “Is this right or wrong?”

We should surrender our calendars to God, letting Him determine our priorities. When we put the “big rocks” (the most important things) in first, everything else fits.

Spiritual truth: Priority determines capacity.

Dr. Doucet:

To live wisely is to live intentionally. A full calendar isn’t the same as a full life.

In a chaotic world, wisdom begins when we pause long enough to see what God is doing.

Like Brad Pitt’s character in World War Z, who pauses amid panic and notices what others miss, we too must stop running long enough to discern God’s presence.

God’s revelation isn’t rare; our attention to it is.

Wisdom means slowing down to see sacred things hidden in the ordinary.

Key Insight:

When we let God order our priorities, we gain capacity, clarity, and peace. Margin grows as wisdom oversees our schedule.

III. Make your time alone with God a priority.

(Matthew 6:33)

Dr. Baucom:

We find margin when we give God the first part of our time, not the leftovers.

Quiet time with God transforms how we view our schedule. Each day begins best when we surrender it back to the One who owns it.

When we stop trying to “measure up” and start resting in God’s grace, life fills up with joy, peace, and purpose.

Dr. Doucet:

Most of us fit God into the leftovers of our schedule, but Jesus said, “Seek first His kingdom.”

Putting God first doesn’t mean He’s an appointment on the calendar; it means everything else fits around Him.

You can’t find margin until you make room for the One who made time.

Key Insight:

Your calendar reveals your kingdom. When God becomes first, the rest of life finds order and rhythm.

Conclusion: Trust the One Who Can See the Trail Ahead

Closing Story:

Dr. Baucom shares a story about his cousin, who, while hunting in the mountains, trusted his horse to find the safe path in the dark and avoided a cliff.

Likewise, we must trust that God sees what we can’t.

Surrender the reins of control and your life to Him.

Final Takeaway:

• God sees better than we do.

• Surrender brings direction.

• Margin grows where trust replaces control.