Time From a Distance

When serving families in the inner-city it is not uncommon to hear young men say that they don’t think too much about the future because they are not sure how long they will live.  This is why many of these young men make decisions based on the moment.  They live under a constant threat of death so they may see time differently from someone not living in this type of environment.  This type of short timeline based decision making reminds me of how differently we see time from the way God does.  God has a transcendent view of everything.  Sometimes we forget that this includes time.  We also have expectations of God based on time as we see it.  We expect God to answer our prayers in a timely fashion.  Often that’s not the case.  God actually views time from a different perspective.

2 Peter 3:8

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

Since God created time he is not bound by time. Everything is done in his timing according to his will.  It is hard to imagine a life without the boundaries of time.  We, like the young in the inner-city, make decisions based on how we view our own timeline.  Everything we know and experience has a beginning and an end.  Jesus calls himself the beginning and the end.

Revelation 22:13

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

This is to remind us that he controls time. When we wait on God to answer our prayers he answers them in his timing.  So understand when you ask God to bless you it has to be according to his will because everything, including time, operates within the boundaries of the will of God.