Of all that is known and appreciated in God’s creation, it might be easy to forget that time was made for our good. Mankind can only exist because God provided and continues to give us time.
The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us:
“To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.”
(Eccl 3:1-8, NKJV).
So, there is a time for every purpose. This famous and thought-provoking poem points to many of them, and one thing this poem screams, if we listen, is that there is no time—to waste time.
Somehow that led me to what I believe is an important question: What is the purpose of time?
- God created time, not because He needs it, but because it is necessary for us to measure and organize the events of life.
- Time provides a framework for evaluating our past, for coordinating and understanding the present, and to prepare for our future as individuals and in community.
- Time, fundamentally and scientifically, gives us rules for living in God’s universe and holds us to those rules.
- The use of time is required to get along with people whose deepest needs are the same as ours, but whose goals and methods contradict and very often superimpose our own.
- We need time to make order of the disorder that others cause, and we need extra time to bring order to the things we have done to ourselves.
- Time provides the boundaries we need to balance striving with rest, sleep with accomplishment, preparation with practice and to see both failure and success for what they are.
- Time shows us when our ambition might be misguided and when or where our effort is weak. The same clock that defeats us can be used by God to teach us.
- Time will follow us to the cliff of destruction, wait with us there, and then be the very proof we need to step away, change directions and run fast toward God..
- Time spent with God is an equalizer and healer when pain and happiness seem out of balance, when nights are long and days are short, and when “things” just aren’t fair.
- Time will let us make some things right, and with God to help us, time allows us to forget most of the bad.
- God’s timing is often for our protection, always accomplishing His will, and never to be used as an excuse for our reluctance to obey His commands or our refusal to follow His wise instruction.
- Time tries hard to awaken us to the sin that would jail the soul of the unbeliever or dampen the praise and steal joy from the believer.
- Shared time was created to multiply our good. Quiet time was created to feed our souls so that we have something to contribute and to share in due time … sometimes just in time.
- When we search for God and then walk with Him in the hard times, he makes us stronger, smarter, more creative and useful in His kingdom.
- God purposed time so that “mine” is no more precious than “yours.” And vice versa. But all time—every time—belongs to God, and God alone.
- Time is a precious gift. Time equals opportunity, yet opportunity, by definition, is bound by time.
- Time’s purpose is not to serve itself or to be our master. It is a guide, a tool for our benefit. We cannot cancel, return, repurpose or promise time . Time can neither be saved, served or borrowed. God always offers time to do the right thing or to do a thing right, but we often don’t take it because we are fixated on time itself rather than the giver of time. There is no such thing as taking “my” time.
- Time is both a blessing and a curse while we wait for Christ’s return. Time is either a blessing or a curse the moment of His return.
“Then the angel that I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. He swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, “There will no longer be a delay, but in the days when the seventh angel will blow his trumpet, then the mystery of God will be completed, as he announced to his servants the prophets.” (Rev 10:5-7, CSB).
PRAY FOR A PRODIGAL TODAY: Ask God to give them understanding that time is short on this side of eternity.
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