In God’s Time!
Thank you for reading the blog today. I am praying that you will be encouraged to hold tight to the Lord, His Word, and His promises. Remember, He is always faithful and He loves you. Eric
There are certain concepts that we, with our finite minds find difficult to comprehend or define. Some of those concepts include the God Head, the ‘why’ in psychological contrasts in how men and women think and or communicate, eternity, and time.
Today, we are going to look into one of those concepts and gain a clearer understanding of God’s ‘time’ and ’timing’. As we come closer to the end of the age, it is important that we are aware of what the Word of God reveals concerning His time and timing. Why? So that we can remain steadfast in our relationship with the Lord during the wait.
Realizing that the very real possibility exists for difficult days ahead demands that we be aware of how the Lord’s Word directs and guides us to a successful conclusion to our earthly existence.
There are many sites on the internet that define ‘time’ based on their particular viewpoint. In fact, with a google search for the phrase, ‘scientific definition of time’, it was stated that there were 1 billion 570 million results!! Ahhhh… don’t worry, we will not be looking at all of them! According to study.com>general physics, ‘time’ is defined as the measure of a change in a physical quantity or a magnitude used to quantify the duration of events. On www.sciencealert.com we read, “Time is a measure of non-stop consistent changes in our surroundings, usually from a specific viewpoint. Gotquestions.org states that, “Time is a property resulting from the existence of matter. I like this definition - it gives us a starting point.
I have discovered that God’s timing and mine come from a very different perspective. When He says, ‘about to’, I think in terms of days, weeks, or perhaps a year or two. However, God’s ‘about to’ could mean months, years, or even the next generation!
His thoughts, ways, and even His plans are not the same as mine, however, the good news is that His are always right and always the best for you and me!
I’m ready to get into the Word!
The Lord doesn’t view ‘time’ in the same way that we do. John 4:24a, reads, “God is spirit.” Pneuma in the Greek, translated ‘spirit’ means: wind, breath, and spirit. God did not exist in a human, bodily form until Jesus came in the flesh.
Psalm 102 reveals that God is above and outside the sphere of time as we know it. Psalm 102: 12, 24-27, “But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations. ... 24 "O my God," I say, "take me not away in the midst of my days-- you whose years endure throughout all generations!" 25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26 They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, 27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.” Then we read in Isaiah 57:15a, “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place,” God is not limited by the physical laws and dimensions that govern our world. He inhabits eternity, and that enables Him to see all of eternity past and eternity future. God’s perspective of time is eternal. That is why we have trouble comprehending His view and timing.
Based on the definition of ‘time’ which we read in gotquestions.org, which read, “time is a property resulting from the existence of matter,” time as we know it had no existence prior to God creating the universe. Quoting gotquestions.org further, “God doesn’t change, therefore time has no existence and therefore no relation to Him. God is spirit in the realm of timelessness, rather than flesh in the sphere of time.” Knowing this will help us understand what God reveals to us in the rest of the scriptures we will look at in this post.
Psalm 90:4 reveals, “For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.” Then we also read in 2 Peter 3:8, “ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
It is difficult to get a grasp on that, however, this we do know, God has a plan for our lives and his timing is always perfect! Jeremiah 29:11 states, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” The word translated ‘plans’ (mahasaba) means: plan and purpose. Isn’t that good news? When God created us, He had a plan and purpose in mind for us. “Welfare” (salom) means: peace with God and a covenant of my peace. His plan and purpose for us includes peace and not calamity, harm, or evil. God wants good things for you and me. (It is good to note that when God spoke these words to the Israelites, they were being punished. Then in verse 16, the Lord told them, “I will bring you back from your captivity.)
Reading Galatians 1:15 and 16 we see, “But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;” The Lord had set Paul apart before he was born. Notice, “it pleased’ the Lord to reveal His Son to Paul.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-3 (NASB20) reveals, “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven-- 2 A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.” The word ‘time’ means: a particular time having a limit, opposed to eternity; season, period of time, or a small space of time. In the textual notes in the New Spirit Filled Life Bible it added, “each thing has it’s proper time or cycle”. From this definition, we understand that the Lord was speaking of ‘time’ as we perceive it, and not eternity. Also, importantly, we see that these worldly events have a time which has been established and appointed by the Lord.
We also see through Scripture that our ‘times’ are in His very capable hands. Psalm 31:15a (NIV), “My times are in your hands;” ‘Times’, (et) as used in this verse means experiences and fortunes.
Psalm 139:15-17 (CSB) reads, “My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began. 17 God, how precious your thoughts are to me; how vast their sum is!”
In all of history, the events, timing, and people involved has been determined by the sovereignty of God. For example, Genesis 50:20 (NASB20) reveals this when Joseph spoke to his brothers, who had sold him into slavery many years prior, he said, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive.” The events in Joseph’s life were not pleasant, however, each one played a part in preparing him for the purpose God had for him. That purpose was his being second in charge in Egypt and preparing for a terrible famine and thus, saving people’s lives.
Every aspect of our personal lives and even the rising or falling of nations takes place by the will of God. Acts 17:24-26 (CSB) reads, “The God who made the world and everything in it -- he is Lord of heaven and earth -- does not live in shrines made by hands. 25 "Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. 26 "From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.” What an amazing Scripture! He is the Creator of all things and all people and is involved even in where they live.
We see in Galatians 4:4 (NIV) that the time of Jesus’ birth was determined by the will of God, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman born under the law.” The phrase ‘fully come’ indicates the perfect timing of God.
You will find in many instances, that the events in Jesus’ life were controlled by the “appointed time” of God. Such as: his attending the Jew’s Feast of Booths (John 1:8); His not being taken by the Pharisees when Jesus told them they did not know Him or His Father; in John 8:20; when a mob took him to the brow of the hill to throw Him off the cliff, but He walked right through the crowd and went on His way. (Luke 41:29,30); and in John 7:30 when Jesus was teaching in the temple and told them the Father sent Him.
The day and hour of Jesus’ return will take place under the authority of God, as we see in Matthew 24:36 and 37, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” The day and hour of His return is an appointed time by the Father.
Apart from what He may show us timewise, we must simply trust Him and wait!
Jesus spoke there words to the disciples in Acts 1:7, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.”
Although having patience is a difficult virtue for many of us to move in, we must realize that God’s timing is perfect, even when we don’t understand possible delays in our prayers being answered. Thus, we pray that He will help us trust His as we hide His Word in our hearts and understand that His Word will never return void (Isaiah 55:11).
Psalm 27:14, reads that we need to be strong and let our heart take courage as we wait upon the Lord!
We are directed to be ‘still’ (opposed to both speech and motion) or according to the Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to be ‘silent’ for Jehovah; i.e. patiently and with confidence to expect his aid in Psalm 37:7.
Romans 8:24b through 25 reads, “Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with confidence.”
You can totally trust in God’s time and timing!
Even though we don’t always enjoy the waiting, with the expectation of fulfillment, we can stand on Isaiah 26:3 from the Amplified Bible, “You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is committed and focused on You - in both inclination and character.] Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].”
He makes all things beautiful in His time!
Trust Him!
Unless noted otherwise, all scripture is taken from the English Standard Version.
NASB20 New American Standard Bible 2020
CSV Christian Standard Bible
NIV New International Version