There is a season (a time appointed) for everything and a time for every delight and event or purpose under heaven—
A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.
A time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones; a time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; a time to keep silent and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace. Eccl. 3:1 – 8. AMP
With the new year looming imminently around the corner, I thought we might consider the passage of time…
God is omniscient, knowing all things, in all time-frames simultaneously. He is also eternal, outside of time.
Jehovah cannot be measured; He is everywhere, even outside of space.
It has been said that God gave us ‘time’ so that everything wouldn’t happen at once with regards to our human viewpoint and gave us ‘space’ so that everything wouldn’t happen in the same place.
God created time and space the moment that He said, “Let there be light…” Gn. 1:3 NKJV
And He controls it:
“Remember [carefully] the former things [which I did] from ages past; for I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things which have not [yet] been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will do all that pleases Me and fulfills My purpose.” Is. 46:9, 10. AMP
So, time, on the surface, is a good thing. However, while we live on this earth, our flesh is prisoner to its finite quantity:
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring – what your life will be! For you are like a vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Jas. 4:13, 14. CSB
The fleetingness of time makes it precious.
Let us consider the moments that have passed. Clearly, from Isaiah above, we are to remember what God did in the past – both to give Him glory and to bolster our faith. However, we can become trapped in our past (which we cannot change), if we allow our focus to wallow in it.
The devil loves it when you do that. Why? Because when you focus on yourself, you are separating yourself from God and hemorrhaging your faith.
Why would you obsess about your past? It always begins in childhood. Some event occurred where you made it mean something that it didn’t – where you take on a belief that either that you are ‘not good enough’ or ‘unlovable.’ This self-judgment lies at the root of every problem that you have. Add to that some of the unconscious parenting that you’ve been subjected to, (variations of the same as what they were put through), as well as being exposed to other troubled kids, and governmental schooling (with many agendas – just like the media), and the damage is done.
Almost everyone believes that they are sullied in some way; and they keep reliving their past in their heads, to prove its veracity:
For as he thinks within himself, so is he. Pr. 23:7 NASB
As a result, you are frozen in time, missing out on the only moments that matter – those that occur in present time. You are the author of your own vexation – filled with anxiety, fear, inappropriate anger, obsession with your self-image, and you lose your ability to effectively communicate. Thus, you have no meaningful relationships.
What a mess! We have to leave the past in the past, and look to God for our healing:
And He will be the security and stability of your times, a treasure of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear (reverence) of the LORD is your treasure. Is. 33:6 AMP
“Because he who blesses himself on the earth will bless himself by the God of truth and faithfulness; and he who swears [an oath] on the earth will swear by the God of truth and faithfulness; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from My sight.
Behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth; and the former things [of life] will not be remembered or come to mind.” Is. 65:16, 17. AMP
“For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.” Jer. 31:34 CSB
If God has taken on amnesia with regards to your past, your slate has been wiped clean. Let up on yourself and embrace His forgiveness…
What about the future?
“It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.” Acts 1:7 CSB
For man also does not know his time [of death]… Eccl. 9:12 AMP
“…the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Mt. 24:44 CSB
So, we don’t know what will happen in the future, how long we will occupy this earth, or, when Christ will return. Thus, we need too drop obsessing about that as well.
However, we can fill ourselves with a guaranteed hope about God’s future for us:
The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your life. The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in [everything that you do] from this time forth and forever. Ps. 121:7, 8. AMP
…put your hope in the LORD, both now and forever. Ps. 131:3 CSB
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Pt. 1:3 – 6. NASB
And we know that the eternal future is where He wants us:
He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]… Eccl. 3:11 AMP
Okay, God’s got our future handled. We can be at peace when we stay by Him.
What does that leave us with? THE PRESENT MOMENT! That’s the only place where life happens. You can’t experience life in the past because it’s already gone, and you can’t foretell the future because it hasn’t happened yet.
The present is all we’ve got, and we need to be prepared for it, because we are here to use it to advance God’s kingdom:
“And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 NASB
God equips us all for our part to play.
In addition, Jehovah tells us how to get the most from our precious present movements:
His ways prosper at all times… Ps. 10:5 NASB
I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Ps. 34:1 NASB
Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him, God is a refuge for us. Ps. 62:8 NASB
Now Jesus was telling the disciples a parable to make the point that at all times they ought to pray and not give up and lose heart. Lk. 18:1 AMP
Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. Eph. 6:18 CSB
…for it is written, Be holy because I am holy. If you appeal to the Father who judges impartially according to each one’s work, you are to conduct yourselves in reverence during your time living as strangers. For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your fathers… 1 Pt. 16 – 18. CSB
Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service]… 1 Pt. 5:6 AMP
“You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.” Jn. 15:16, 17. NASB
So, if we put serving our God first, walking in His ways, keeping in continual prayerful contact, living humbly and loving bountifully, and sharing the Good News, God will give us the best of present moments for our stay here, and an unimaginable eternity to come…
For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Rm. 8:18 NASB
And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. Heb. 9;27, 28. NASB
When we can discard the phantom ends of the plank we walk, that is, the past and the future, we can live in an exalted balance within our God time.
Amen.
Goodnight and God bless.