Luke 19:1-6 (KJV)
And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.
Zacchaeus understood his limitations. He was of little stature, both physically and spiritually.
Zacchaeus understood his fight. The press was preventing him from seeing Jesus; blocking his access to Jesus.
As more TIME transpired, the probability of him seeing Jesus lessened. So he focused his energies and efforts not on the PRESS, which he had could not get rid of, but rather on TIME. He ran before.
Before is an adverb of time. It refers to a period of time preceding a particular event, date, or time. It speaks of earlier, sooner than, in advance of, and even in the future.
Zacchaeus’ desire to see Jesus and his recognition of the PRESS (those barriers to his sight – his stature + the crowd) gave him the strategy to counter the attack of the enemy. He understood that his victory was in his ability to work with TIME.
Prayer is a weapon of warfare that penetrates the Earth realm (the physical & natural realm) and grants us access into the Heavenly realm (the spiritual & supernatural realm).
When my prayer time (i.e. my access to see and talk with Jesus) is under attack, the next weapon of warfare that I pull from my arsenal is TIME MANAGEMENT.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 states, the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
The wise man Solomon understood through experience that victory is not always attained by the one who possesses swiftness, strength, wisdom, understanding, or skill. Time and opportunity is available to all as a means of accessing victory. I can circumvent the crowd by “running before” and by “climbing up”.
“Running before” means planning ahead. It means planning intelligently. This involves
1. Having a plan for your time. (Every minute of your day
should be allocated to a priority. Note: rest, recreation
and allowance for the unexpected are to be
considered as priorities as well).
2. Prioritizing tasks/responsibilities and set deadlines.
3. Creating and implementing routines in your daily life.
4. Identifying and eliminating or minimizing distractions.
5. Executing your tasks/responsibilities excellently so as
to eliminate having to do over tasks (wasted time).
“Climbing Up” means changing your mindset. It means having and/or seeking the mind of Christ, seeing and understanding not as the natural man but as the spiritual man. The account of Martha and Mary teaches us this.
DIG DEEPER:
1. Blog Post – TIME MANAGEMENT: Warfare Against the Press
2. Devotional – Isn’t There Anyone To Help Me?