To the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Jude 1:25 ESV
I remember sitting in grade school, junior high (middle school wasn’t a thing then), and high school classrooms with my eyes glued to the clock during the last hour of each school day. The second hand plodded from point to point. The minute hand made little progress. The hour hand sat stubbornly in place, weighed down by the expectations of twenty-eight (or more) pairs of eyes as we all…waited…for…the…day…to…be…over. Time crawled.
Waiting for a birthday or holiday to roll around each year was unbearable as a child. During that period, a year felt like an eternity slowly approaching.
Then, one day—I’m not sure when it happened—I realized that time had kicked into high gear. It moved at the speed of light. And it has continued to accelerate ever since.
We run out of “day” before the “to-do” list is halfway done. Each year flies by faster than the year before.
Every minute of the day is overflowing with self-imposed expectations and the demands of others. We try to control our schedules and limit our commitments to the bare essentials, hoping to manage our lives better and reduce the overwhelming life that seems to have taken over.
Time continues to speed up.
Our calendars pile up with commitments, appointments, and obligations, leaving little time to pursue our desires, plans, hopes, and dreams. There never seems to be enough time to connect with loved ones and friends as we would like.
Exercise? Rest? Refreshment? Renewal? There’s no time for those sorts of frivolity.
We often hold out from fully committing to God because our eyes are always on the clock, and we feel our schedule will break if we add another commitment.
Every minute of the day carries an obligation.
Finding focused minutes with God and His Word becomes increasingly difficult. Creating space to spend with God, thinking about Him, and serving Him too often doesn’t happen.
Today, there is no time for God. That is for tomorrow—when things slow down.
Friend, life does not slow down. The clock winds tighter and races more quickly. There is never enough time—not enough hours, minutes, or seconds.
There is never enough NOW.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow is our answer. I’ll get to that tomorrow.
We forget that we have no promise of tomorrow.
“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
James 4:14 ESV
We become so focused on our here and now that we forget we are everlasting creatures. We forget our “today” is a speck in God’s eternal now.
We forget that our actions today have consequences that stretch far beyond our years on earth. And, we fail to remember that all our days—every day, hour, minute, and second belong to our Creator.
Our life and breath are at His discretion (Job 12:10).
God’s agenda for humankind and His plan for every person exists outside of a time-framed schedule. There is no ticking clock in God’s economy. Simply put, God will accomplish His perfect will and plan at precisely the right moment.
His timing is perfect and not measured by a clock.
What does that mean for us, God’s children?
The blunt answer is this:
With or without us, God will do what God plans to do when He plans to do it.
That means if we busy and bury ourselves in our plans and schedules, always planning to “get to God tomorrow,” we’ll miss out on much that God wants to give us and include us in today, in our here and now—and in our eternal tomorrow.
We cannot forget that how we choose to spend our time or allow our time to be spent has eternal consequences. We overlook that eternal consequences begin now and can offer great joy, peace of heart and mind, fellowship with God’s family, and a deepening relationship with God Himself.
Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that He may come and rain righteousness upon you.
Hosea 10:12 ESV
Consider the gift of time God gives you daily. How do you spend it? Do you spend all your time on the present without thinking about God or His Kingdom?
Yes, we have earthly responsibilities that we must tend to daily. But even in those responsibilities, we can be mindful of God’s will and controlled by His Spirit so that in all things, we bring glory to Him and are mindful of the eternal impact of all our actions and behaviors.
Friend, when we surrender fully to our LORD, we can take a deep breath, release the tension in our mind and bodies, and relax knowing that He is in control. His timing is perfect and His Will will be done.
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
Ephesians 5:15-17