(Read Ecclesiastes 3)
There is a song from one of my all-time favorite bands called “Time Is on My Side.” It was written by Jerry Ragovoy and later covered by the Rolling Stones in 1964. While the song is about the positioning of a relationship, you can’t escape the face value of the words— “time is on my side.” I don’t know a whole lot of people who believe this.
On the tennis courts, time is a real conundrum. When you’re playing well and your footwork is sharp, there are occasions when it feels like you can stop or slow down time in order to run down a ball and hit it. It almost seems like a Matrix-like moment when you’re processing things faster than when they’re happening. The ball appears to have slowed down and frozen in time. Then, of course, are the moments when you have no time to get to anything.
From our vantage point, time is either too long or too short. Time only matters to us. From God’s perspective, time is irrelevant. For my last marathon, I needed to run a 3:30 time to qualify for the world-famous Boston Marathon. I missed it by 8 minutes. That same year, I ran my best-ever half-marathon time and placed as a finalist in my age group. Time works for us and against us. If you’re on vacation, you want everything to stop, to make each day last as long as a month. When you’re waiting on results from a medical exam, you wish away time and long for tomorrow. The only thing that can satisfy our ongoing struggle with this time construct is trusting in God’s use of it.
“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end”.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
Physicists explain time as the sequence of events from the past through the present and into the future. If a system remains unchanged, it is timeless. God sees everything, including our lives, from that eternal perspective. He lives in the eternal, so His plan has more to do with our final perfection than it has to do with a schedule. Many evangelists and pastors have said that the human heart has one big gaping hole in it, which cannot be satisfied by alcohol, drugs, sex, fame, fortune, or even family. Our longing is for the eternal, and we will get there one day in the presence of God.
If we see God for who He truly is, we know that He’s sovereign, which means He controls everything. God orchestrates each aspect of life in its proper time according to His purpose. Despite our desire to understand the workings of God in the scheme of things, the verse in Ecclesiastes acknowledges the limitations of our understanding. God’s ways are beyond human comprehension, and in our earthly life, we’ll never fully grasp the entirety of His plan.
When God said that He made everything absolutely perfect for its own time and place, that should tell us that there is a bigger purpose, vision, and beautiful result for everything in our lives. When we don’t see the point of our pain or how we got there, God reminds us that He sees between the gaps. He sees around the corners and well beyond our farthest borders. Ecclesiastes 3:11 reminds us that Jesus slayed the enemy. He finished the work. He conquered death. So when we’re going through the uncertainty of fear from our next trial, we should focus on the fact that Jesus, not our obstacles, has the last word. There is a much larger scenario at work than the hustle and bustle we experience in our lives. Jesus wants us to trust in Him for all things, trading our deadlines for His lifeline.
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Psalm 27:14
When something is repeated in Scripture, the writer reinforces the significance and urgency of his key message. “Wait for the LORD” sounds like a simple concept, doesn’t it? Yet, as programmed as we are for the eternal, we’re also programmed to worry about what’s next. We can be calm and patient until we’re not. Like a happy dog on a walk, content with his master, when suddenly—SQUIRREL! In Psalm 27, King David urges us to wait.
There is huge importance in patience and trust in God’s timing. It encourages all believers to wait expectantly for God to act on our behalf. While waiting, are we steadfast and resolute or anxious, skeptical, and doubtful in our faith? Waiting on God is not a passive activity but requires active trust and confidence in His faithfulness. Waiting on the LORD is a concept that goes beyond simply passing time. It requires a posture of trust, dependence, and faith in God. Waiting on the LORD shouldn’t be sitting around waiting for Him alone to do something; it should be filled with hope and expectation. Waiting on the LORD signifies a recognition of our limitations and a turning to God for strength and guidance. It’s when we surrender our desires to His will and rely on Him to provide. Waiting on the LORD often involves actively seeking Him through prayer, studying scripture, and listening for His guidance.
A close friend of mine is going through a very low valley in his life. Many fibers of his routine life are no longer routine. What was once a given is now in question. Because of this, he takes nothing for granted. My friend has been faithful and humble throughout this period. Most importantly, he has been patient in his trust in God’s plan for him. He said, “I’m okay… I am just trusting and believing that Jesus will come through for me and will deliver me. I can’t wait to be able to pour everything I learned over the last six months to help others grow in their relationship with Christ.”
For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come
and will not delay.
Habakkuk 2:3
The certainty of the “revelation” is an obvious reference to a “vision” God revealed to Habakkuk. Though not yet fulfilled at the time of Habakkuk’s writing, the event is absolutely certain. It has a set time and will come to pass. Despite the certainty, the verse also speaks about a delay. This is where so many of us stray and struggle. Time crawls when we’re waiting for God. Even when we know our deliverance is in His hands, time still dresses up as our enemy. But it’s not. God is faithful and keeps His promises. We will never understand God’s timing, but we can trust His timing is perfect.
The principle of waiting on the LORD with faith and patience isn’t limited to specific prophecies. It’s a core concept that applies to every situation in life where we are waiting for God’s answer, healing, or provision. Maybe one of God’s goals for our struggle with time is to shift us from looking at the pointless things in this world that we can’t control to being entirely devoted to worship and love of the One who reigns sovereign over all.
I feel like part of our problem with time is that we don’t learn from it. God often puts things in our way so that we can teach others, learn for ourselves, and grow closer to Him. Whether it’s a sunbaked sunset over the ocean or the painstaking ticks of a clock before a public speaking event, God put us there at that time for a reason. He wants us to be aware of His presence in all moments. I often believe that God wants me to hit the pause button in good times, and especially in bad times, so that I can hear His whisper.
We can never slow down or speed up time. It is not our enemy, nor is it on our side. Time is a part of our earthly lives that will evaporate meaninglessly when we go to be with Christ in the eternity of His Kingdom. God is the ultimate time bender. He’s got a reason for every second of our lives. My trust is in God for His schedule, not mine.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
Benefits of Waiting on God:
- Isaiah 40:31 suggests that those who wait on the LORD will find their strength renewed and gain a sense of inner peace and calmness, even amid life’s storms.
- Waiting and trusting God will strengthen our faith and deepen our relationship with Him.
- Don’t wait for time and trust in it; trust in the one who created time and will make it meaningless. Pray to God and tell Him you trust in His plan.
Where else in your life can you live out the teachings of Christ? Look for next week’s Devotion.