For many years I always wore a watch so I’d know what time it was. I’ve always been a little time conscious, but it’s especially important if you’re shopping and need to be somewhere at a certain time. I never gave it much thought, but normally you don’t see a clock on the wall in stores—probably because they don’t want you to be in a hurry to leave so that you’ll buy more. After I started carrying my cell phone in my pocket, I gradually got away from wearing a watch because I had audible reminders of appointments. Besides, even if I had a watch on my arm, I found myself looking up at the clock in the room. So why wear a watch?!
What are some things TIME tells us?
- When it’s time to go to bed or get up
- To put the book down and make a meal
- Get ready to leave for work or an appointment
- How long we’ve been concentrating on something
- A block of time left to get a task accomplished
- If it’s a good day, how fast time seems to go when we are having fun
- If it’s a bad day, how slow time drags on
- Add your own:
“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.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,
as some understand slowness.
Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish,
but everyone to come to repentance.”
2 Peter 3:8-9, NIV
Time is time and is consistent all the time. When we are waiting for something to take place or someone to arrive, time seems to slow down and drag, but we know it doesn’t really. However, with God, this verse tells us, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day. That doesn’t make sense to us humans, but to God it makes perfect sense. Think about it… If it was up to us, wouldn’t we fast forward through the bad times or the waiting times, and put the brakes on when times are good and we’re enjoying what’s happening around us so we could enjoy it a little longer? I know I would. But God is not slow. He just has a different time table than we do. That is because of His loving kindness and patience. He wants to give everyone the time they need to come to Him in repentance.
Are we there yet? Isn’t that the question every child asks in anticipation when on a long trip to somewhere exciting? What are you looking forward to?
Do I have to go? That’s the opposite of anticipation. It’s when you know you have to go somewhere you don’t want to go and probably participate in some activity you have no interest in. Are you willing to go if God is directing you?
When is time sensitive and is definitive. When are we leaving? When is our company coming? Which question is your reaction when thinking about Heaven? I admit for years mine was the latter. But now every day I find myself asking when, Lord? When do I get to leave this world? When are You coming back? There is a definite specific response to these when questions unlike the maybe answers we often give each other when there are things we don’t really want to do. Jesus doesn’t say maybe I’ll come back or maybe I’ll give people more opportunity to find Me. He says I will come back and it will be in My time when more people have come to Me.
Planning is important to me because I’m a plan-ahead type of person. My calendar is full of time slots, some filled in and some blank. I like to make sure I have something to do on any given day but not be so booked that I don’t have time to enjoy the unplanned things of life that can bring so much fun and joy. Planning ahead for eternity is one of those things that I can’t plug into a certain day or time slot, but it is definitely something I can plan for in my life by making sure I’m ready when the time comes.
“There is an appointed time for everything.
And there is a time for every matter under Heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1, NASB
Just like the old adage attributed to Benjamin Franklin, “A place for everything and everything in its place”, there is a time for everything. The question is, how are you using your time? And are you making time for the important things? Are you ready for the day and time when God will call you home? You need to get ready now because we don’t know when that will be. If you are ready, then peace will be yours both now and then.