God’s View of Time
What do you think about God’s perspective of time?
Verse of the Day
“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.”
Today’s Devotional
I can remember being much younger and thinking an hour sounded like a very long time. These days, it seems like the years seem to fly by quickly. As humans, our view of time seems to change based on our age or our circumstances. Each hour is the same length, however an hour in the dentist chair feels much different than an hour spent doing something you love.
God does not have the same view of time that we do. God created time, as He exists outside of time. That fact is hard for me to comprehend. Because if we are honest, time is our most precious commodity.
When looking at patience, time is definitely a factor. I don’t need to exhibit much patience when something I’m waiting for happens quickly. When I’m forced to wait, patience is much harder to display.
Today’s verse tells us the reason for God’s delay in allowing Jesus to return to earth. God’s heart is that everyone would choose Him as their God. God doesn’t desire to smite anyone one. Look at Ezekiel 33:11: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.’
Imagine that you are standing next to a large aquarium full of fish. The fish are all living IN the water. Yet you exist outside of the water. You can see the fish, and perhaps they can see you, but they have no understanding that you are living “outside” of the water. If we align that analogy with today’s verse, WE are the fish, the water is time, and God is the one standing outside the aquarium. God exists beyond the constraints of time. But we, the “fish”, need time as part of our existence. It is part of the framework in which we live, just like the water for the fish.
As we seek to allow the Spirit to help us to become patient, it’s helpful if we think of time as a gift. We can use our time to satisfy our own desires, or we can use the time we have to glorify God and live in a way that draws people to Him.
Bibleref.com puts it this way: “Here in this verse, Peter insists that we cannot apply human demands about time to the promises of God. He is not slow in keeping His promise. God is the one who made the schedule: He cannot be “late.” Instead, God keeps every promise at the perfect time for His glory and for the good of those He loves.
In this case, Christians should view the delay in Christ’s return as evidence of God’s patience, not of His tardiness. In His love-driven patience, God is willing to give more time for more people to come to repentance. This is God’s plan to allow more people opportunity to place their trust in Christ in order to enter into eternal relationship with Him. God doesn’t want anyone to perish or die.”
As I reflect on this, and as I am allowing the Spirit to help me to become patient, my prayer is that I will allow God to give me His perspective of time. How we view time is a major factor in our ability to be patient. If we can learn to view time from God’s perspective, then perhaps we will become more patient as we wait for Him to act.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What is your biggest struggle with time?
How do you think God views time?
How does your relationship with time affect your patience?
How can you use your time today to glorify God and serve others?