From God comes…
From God comes time. Each year when we switch our clocks by springing forward or falling back, I keep wishing they would just pick a time and stick with it. Unfortunately, no one consults me about these decisions. So, I just resign myself to the fact that it is what it is, and then remind myself that time itself is a gift from God.
Yes, time is a gift from God—but a limited one. We don’t know how much time we have to live (James 4:14; Psalm 39:4-5). Therefore, time is a valuable commodity (Psalm 90:12). So, we are admonished to make the most of it (Colossians 4:5; Ephesians 5:15-17).
God has also appointed a time for everything in our lives. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, “To everything there is a season. And a time for every purpose under heaven.” God put the sun and moon in the heavens to mark seasons (Genesis 8:22; Psalm 104:19). He has also given us various seasons or times in our lives (Ecclesiastes 3:2-8). There’s a time to be born and a time to die. There is a time to plant and a time to reap…and so on.
God is not tied to time like we are. Modern life teaches us to expect things to happen quickly. We have learned to rush but not to wait. We want fast food, minute rice, and instant gratification. However, the richest rewards may require us to wait on God’s divine timing (Psalm 27:14). Waiting is not a natural part of our biological chemistry, so it is difficult. We think that waiting robs us of our valuable time, but it is necessary if we are to know the true meaning of trusting God. In fact, while waiting is an excellent opportunity to redeem our time (Ephesians 5:15-16).
Carl Sandburg once said, “Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” Therefore, we must practice using our time wisely.
Believe it or not, God gives us enough time to do what He wants us to do. Plus, God understands the experiences, emotions, and transitions we encounter during our time here on earth and in His wisdom, He gives us time to process them. Through the prompting of the Holy Spirit within us, God can help direct our time and energy wisely.
God’s timing is better than ours. For example, sometimes we may think we have our day perfectly planned, but God has other ideas. That’s His prerogative. We can trust God in these situations. After all, our time is in God’s hands (Psalm 31:15).
“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God…”
~James 1:17 (NLT)
