Time Change
O God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1)
Tom had this
problem of getting up in the morning and was always late for work. His boss was
mad at him and threatened to fire him if he didn't do something about it. So
Tom went to his doctor who gave him a pill and told him to take it before he
went to bed. Tom slept well and, in fact, beat the alarm in the morning. He had
a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work. "Boss," he said,
"the pill actually worked!" "That's all fine" said the
boss, "but where were you yesterday?"
Have
you ever thought that God has a habit of being late? Recently, I’ve become more
aware that God operates on a different time, almost as if he uses a different
clock. So, from my perspective, and using my clock, God is late – a lot. Have
you ever thought that? Some people get just a little uncomfortable when others speak
about God in pretty common ways. Sometimes there’s a degree of artificiality
about our faith that doesn’t permit us to see God in ways that are just natural
to life. As a result, we can’t bring ourselves to speak of God in ways that may
appear common or negative or, worse yet, blasphemous.
For
instance, when God appeared to Abraham in Genesis 18, it was with the intention
of telling Abraham that he and Sarah were finally going to have a son. Unfortunately,
Abraham was 99 years old at the time, and Sarah was 89. Both knew that it was
already way too late to be having kids. And the irony of the situation wasn’t lost
on Abraham and Sarah since they both burst out laughing when they heard the
news. I can just imagine them saying, “God, it’s a little too late for that one!”
And
how about Moses? Can you imagine this 80-year old geezer, living in exile for
the past 40 years, who God startles at a burning bush? I’m thinking that the dreams
and hopes he had had 40 years prior had pretty much evaporated. His people, the
Israelites, had been in bondage, slaves of Egypt, for over a hundred years or
more. And during this period a death decree had been proclaimed against the
Israelites. The resulting pogrom led to the death of hundreds, maybe even thousands
of infant male Israelites. In fact, Moses himself had been miraculously rescued
from this same decree. So why does God come at this late hour and attempt a
deliverance of his people? Is it possible that Moses’ hesitancy was partially
driven by his doubts about God’s sense of timing? It’s like you can almost hear
Moses muttering, “God, you’re too late on this one.”
Or,
what about Job? Job had experienced monumental tragedies. He’d lost all his
material possessions; his children had perished violently; his wife walked out
on him; and his friends had turned into vicious accusers. Slowly but surely,
Job began to sink into despair and despondency. And that’s when God shows up. But
why then? Why let it go on for so long? Wasn’t it too late? I mean, you can
just hear job lament, “God, where were you?” Worse yet, God was responsible for
this whole ordeal by bragging about Job to Satan, and then letting Satan wreak
havoc in Job’s life, almost to death. What’s up with that?
Mary
and Martha watched their brother, Lazarus, fall ill, his health deteriorate and
then die. They had sent desperate messages to Jesus to come and help. He didn’t.
Then, four days after Lazarus’ burial, Jesus shows up. Can you feel the pain of
the sisters when they saw Jesus? Out of desperation they cried, “Lord, if you
had been here, you could have helped Lazarus. But you’re too late!” (John 11:21)
And then, when Jesus asked that the tombstone be rolled away, Martha protested,
“Lord, he’s been in there for four days!” (vs. 39) Again, God was late.
It
seems that the most commonly asked questions of faith have little to do,
frankly, with God’s existence, or even his providence. The most troubling
questions for God’s people inevitably have to do with his sense of timing. Far
too frequently our God seems late. So God’s people are often left to cry out,
“When, O Lord? How long, O Lord? Why weren’t you here when we needed you? Why didn’t
you come? Why are you so late?” Ever asked those questions? Yes, God is
frequently late. But he’s always on time.
In
Isaiah 55:8-9 God reminds us of a fundamental truth. He says, “My thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways . . . As the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts
than your thoughts.” In other words, God operates on a different thought level
– one that we’re incapable of achieving. And God also runs on a different
clock. “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are
like a day.” (2 Peter 3:8) You see, God functions on a totally different time
scale – his time is not our time.
In
Jeremiah 29:11 God makes a wonderful promise: “For I know the plans I have for
you; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a
future.” You see, God functions at a very different level of intentionality.
Unlike you and me, he has only good plans. This is further corroborated in Romans
8:28 where Paul writes, “We know that in everything, God works for the good of
those who love him, and who are called according to his purpose.” This forces a
conviction upon us that says: Whatever happens to us fits a design. God is in
control of our lives, and he alone knows what is truly best for us.
Abraham
and Sarah thought that God had appeared too late, but because God came Isaac
was born. Moses may have entertained similar thoughts about God’s timing, but
because he came the Israelites were delivered from Egypt and we are left with
the story of the Exodus – the greatest tale of deliverance in human history. When
God came to Job, a tenfold restoration ensued. All the losses that Job experienced
were more than amply compensated. Mary and Martha were certain that Jesus was
too late. However, he came and because he did Lazarus was raised from the dead.
In
each of these stories, and others like them, God is quite obviously “late.” That’s
what we see. That’s our perception of his actions. That is the view we are
allowed to have. And if we examine our own lives we notice those times when God
was late, or that we were certain he was. This view of reality is the most
trying one for God’s people because we frequently struggle to make sense of all
this. Frankly, on its face, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But the
curtain has been drawn aside for us, and we’ve been given the privilege of
getting a peak – from God’s side – of our reality. And, from God’s side, he’s always
on time.
God’s
intentionality and heart for us means that he’s always on time. From his
vantage point, and with his love always directed at us, he can, and does ensure
that he is truly on time, regardless of what our clocks say. And with that truth
in hand, we can turn to an important lesson of faith. Isaiah 40:31 states:
“Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall rise up on
wings like eagles. They shall run and not be wearied; they
shall walk and not faint.” Faith discovers its strength, not in a busy life or
in the preponderance of effort, but in the tranquility of soul that enables us
to tune in to God’s frequency. It’s in our waiting upon the Lord that we learn
the lessons we need the most.
The three Hebrew teenagers, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, could have been tempted to believe that God was late – that he had forgotten all about them. Their king had given a decree that everyone should bow before a golden image of him or die in a blazing furnace of fire. So when the theme music played, all the people obediently fell on their faces before the image – well, everyone except those three Hebrew boys. The king was so enraged at their disobedience that he commanded the fire to be heated seven times hotter than it was already. Then the boys were given one last chance to change their minds, but they wouldn’t. And by then, the heat from the fire was so intense that it killed the guards who had been assigned the task of throwing Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into it.
So why didn’t the Lord come and scorch this idolatrous king and his followers? Where was he, anyway? What we find is that God was waiting for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the furnace. And when they were thrown in, much to the king’s surprise, he saw four figures – not three – walking around in the furnace: “He said, ‘Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’” (Dan. 3:25) Sometimes God delivers us from the trial, and sometimes he delivers us through it. In the case of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, God received greater glory by allowing them to go through this fiery trial rather than delivering them from it.
In other words, God
is never late; he’s always on time. As we look at the world around us, we see
horrible violence, perversion and people not only breaking God’s laws but
flaunting their wicked lifestyles. And we wonder when God will return to put an
end to all of the suffering and sorrow. That’s when we need to trust in God’s
perfect timing. The apostle Peter wrote: “First
of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing
and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this ‘coming’ he
promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the
beginning of creation….’ 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. He is
patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance.” (2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-9)
The day will come when God will make all things right. There’s a time for everything, and a season for every activity. (Ecc. 3:1) So if your watch is running a little fast, maybe you should take it to the Watchmaker; word has it that he makes adjustments for free.
Grace,
Randy
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