The Holy One calls to me this morning. Wrestles in the watches of the night made for interrupted sleep. The day begins at first light, later than I like. The hours just before dawn are different for me. Waking up "late" makes me feel that I have lost precious time.
Time seems to be the big theme to me these days. I count it precious and I hate the thought of losing it. The gentle and familiar voice of the Holy One speaks to my anxiety, "My timetable is eternity, why are you so worried?"
The days are fleeting, and time seems like it is flying by. There is so much I "feel" I have yet to do and so much I hope yet to accomplish. Then my Counselor reminds me of 2 Peter 3:8, "But do not forget this one thing dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day".
Who can comprehend the leisure of Holiness? Who can fathom the actual thought of Eternity?
With the clock and calendar, sunrise and sunset, placing the boundaries on our earthly timetable, we humans find it hard to grasp eternity and therefore we worry and fret about eternal time or ignore it all together.
The message of 2 Peter touches on the very wrestles of the dark hours last night. Of course my wise Counselor knows my most intimate thoughts and always conveys His Creator knowledge about me, His "created".
I feel a lot like that white rabbit in "Alice in Wonderland" when he was running around saying, "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date". The anxiety hits especially hard when I realize how quickly the days, months, and even the last year have passed into my life as "history".
I am always in awe of the Holy One and His ability to meet me right where I am, bringing comfort by the minute against the pressures of this life. His message comes alive as I read the words that Peter penned so long ago.
Peter seemed to know that his departure from this realm was imminent and wanted to leave instructions that would not be forgotten after he left planet earth. Over the centuries his words have been life for the readers, for they are in fact words written through Peter from the Lord Himself. All scripture is authored in Heaven and has been given through human scribes for the benefit of all humanity.
The Word of God is relevant and alive to me today just as it has been over all the centuries for those who believe in the Eternal One and only God who came to call in the Person of Jesus, the Christ. As I read the scriptures the Holy One has taken me to this morning, peace is restored.
His words are a reminder that He is in control. The things that I "see" and hate in the form of evil, He sees and hates too. The things I long for in the form of goodness and mercy, He provides as I lay hold of His promises and the Word of Truth.
We may grow impatient wanting to see the "instant" fix for problems we face here, but there is something amazing and profound going on from God's end of things.
"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 3:9).
Time seems to be the big theme to me these days. I count it precious and I hate the thought of losing it. The gentle and familiar voice of the Holy One speaks to my anxiety, "My timetable is eternity, why are you so worried?"
The days are fleeting, and time seems like it is flying by. There is so much I "feel" I have yet to do and so much I hope yet to accomplish. Then my Counselor reminds me of 2 Peter 3:8, "But do not forget this one thing dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day".
Who can comprehend the leisure of Holiness? Who can fathom the actual thought of Eternity?
With the clock and calendar, sunrise and sunset, placing the boundaries on our earthly timetable, we humans find it hard to grasp eternity and therefore we worry and fret about eternal time or ignore it all together.
The message of 2 Peter touches on the very wrestles of the dark hours last night. Of course my wise Counselor knows my most intimate thoughts and always conveys His Creator knowledge about me, His "created".
I feel a lot like that white rabbit in "Alice in Wonderland" when he was running around saying, "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date". The anxiety hits especially hard when I realize how quickly the days, months, and even the last year have passed into my life as "history".
I am always in awe of the Holy One and His ability to meet me right where I am, bringing comfort by the minute against the pressures of this life. His message comes alive as I read the words that Peter penned so long ago.
Peter seemed to know that his departure from this realm was imminent and wanted to leave instructions that would not be forgotten after he left planet earth. Over the centuries his words have been life for the readers, for they are in fact words written through Peter from the Lord Himself. All scripture is authored in Heaven and has been given through human scribes for the benefit of all humanity.
The Word of God is relevant and alive to me today just as it has been over all the centuries for those who believe in the Eternal One and only God who came to call in the Person of Jesus, the Christ. As I read the scriptures the Holy One has taken me to this morning, peace is restored.
His words are a reminder that He is in control. The things that I "see" and hate in the form of evil, He sees and hates too. The things I long for in the form of goodness and mercy, He provides as I lay hold of His promises and the Word of Truth.
We may grow impatient wanting to see the "instant" fix for problems we face here, but there is something amazing and profound going on from God's end of things.
"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 3:9).
We cannot begin to know who might be affected as we make our journey with Jesus through the hard things in life, but God does.
Our conference today reminds me that, while I may "feel" like time is a fleeting commodity, the Author of time itself, gives liberally. Opportunities to grow in the knowledge of the Holy and to share the benefits of our salvation with the world around us continue to come again and again.
This is called by a word many of us can't quite understand in the bigger picture, but it's know as our "sanctification". Even if we don't quite "get it", we are in it and the process is a life-time long. Knowing the Lord is patient somehow enables me to be patient too.
To punctuate the lesson of today, the Holy Spirit speaks to my fears and His restoration of what seems to be lost in the passage of time.
Our conference today reminds me that, while I may "feel" like time is a fleeting commodity, the Author of time itself, gives liberally. Opportunities to grow in the knowledge of the Holy and to share the benefits of our salvation with the world around us continue to come again and again.
This is called by a word many of us can't quite understand in the bigger picture, but it's know as our "sanctification". Even if we don't quite "get it", we are in it and the process is a life-time long. Knowing the Lord is patient somehow enables me to be patient too.
To punctuate the lesson of today, the Holy Spirit speaks to my fears and His restoration of what seems to be lost in the passage of time.
I Peter 5:10, "And the God of all grace who called you to His eternal Glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast."
And again in Joel 2:25, "And I will restore to you the years the locusts have eaten".
As I ponder the words of wisdom and comfort given me today, I see more of what He is trying to teach me in this season. The moment we are in is eternal, beyond time and space. Earthly things have heavenly resolutions we just can't quite see here yet. Just because a day is like a thousand years to the One who is beyond time doesn't mean I have to wait for a thousand years for the answers to today's problems. I can expect that the answers will come at the exact moment of His will. Time has no bearing on His being so I must learn how to release that burden on mine.
Jesus in His model prayer taught us to pray:
As I ponder the words of wisdom and comfort given me today, I see more of what He is trying to teach me in this season. The moment we are in is eternal, beyond time and space. Earthly things have heavenly resolutions we just can't quite see here yet. Just because a day is like a thousand years to the One who is beyond time doesn't mean I have to wait for a thousand years for the answers to today's problems. I can expect that the answers will come at the exact moment of His will. Time has no bearing on His being so I must learn how to release that burden on mine.
Jesus in His model prayer taught us to pray:
Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven. (Matt 6:10)
As Jesus walked on this turf we call earth, each situation and each miracle made for a manifestation of Heaven's eternal moment and immediate resolution to all the pain and suffering we experience here. That is our potential in that He said, greater things would we do because He was going to His Father in Heaven.
Knowing this, I can trust that all things are filtered through God's fingers of love to me. Each and every trial is calibrated with my weaknesses and strengths in mind. The Keeper of Eternity knows the duration of our tolerance for what we are enduring. In God's economy, nothing is lost that cannot be redeemed, restored, or replaced and He will supply our every need to accomplish His will for our lives.
God's eternal timetable is actually time-less. Time, once lost, seemed to be the enemy of my hope. But that was before this morning when the Lord had the last word on the subject.
The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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