Timeless Truths

Each second that passes is gone forever. How we sometimes wish we could stop time! The coming and going, the separations, exhaustion, wear and tear… It can provoke despondency and sorrow. But we can take courage when we focus on God’s realities.

All things are from God, all things are through God, and all things are created for God. Everything that is, breathes, and exists is established by Him and in Him. God exists in and of Himself; He is sufficient for Himself in every way. And so, we humans have complete sufficiency in Him alone. What exactly do these timeless realities mean for us?

Far Beyond Everything
When we try to describe God, we often say that God is eternal. Before there was a beginning to all created things, there was God, whose existence has no beginning (Gen 1:1). We also know that this is true of His Son Jesus Christ (John 1:1). But “eternal” doesn’t just mean that God is endless and infinite. It means much, much more.

Psalm 90 is probably the oldest Psalm. In it, the realities of God and those of man collide. Moses describes the brevity of human life, probably still feeling the impact of the death of an entire generation, during the 40-year journey through the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula (Num 14:29-35). Separations, exhaustion, wear and tear. Humans are mortal. Contrast this with the “eternal” God.

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Ps 90:1-2).

Verse 2 transports us to a time before God made the earth. And then it says, “from everlasting to everlasting, you are God!” The basic root of the word “eternity” is the same as for “age”—from age to age. He who made everything, to whom everything belongs, also created time and ages. All things are subject to Him. God existed before even time existed. From the foundation of the world to its perfection, He reigns over all things and throughout all ages (cf. 1 Tim 1:17). Perfection is when God will be all in all (1 Cor 15:28).

When we say that God is endless, that of course is true. But in terms of describing the word “eternal,” we find this explanation lacking. God also exists beyond the concept of endlessness. Because it is an explanation based in time (albeit endless), it’s insufficient. God is far beyond all things, even time.

In the present evil age, Satan is the god of this world (cf. 2 Cor 4:4). He is the prince of this age, who blinds the senses. But God is far beyond the devil and every age. He is also beyond us and the concerns of our lives and our ego, which so often grieve us. He is far and high above all things, so that any human comparisons will fall short.

Always in the Now
One basic insight is that God, for whom there is neither past nor future, is simultaneously both here and there. And because He is outside of everything temporal and created, Psalm 139 is a fact that is grounded in His essence: “You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me … Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” (vv. 5, 7-8).

He is everywhere at the same time. That is what allowed Jesus to tell His disciples, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” This is our God. We are never alone, whether our needs and problems are large or small. God is everywhere, always in the present, always the same and unbound.

As a 17-year-old, Joni Eareckson Tada was paralyzed after diving into shallow water. After weeks of hospitalization and realizing that her condition was permanent, she sunk into depression and wished for death. But her friends and family were constantly present and encouraged her with Scripture. In time, she learned to create art by holding a pencil or paintbrush between her teeth, and many of her pieces are based on the Bible. She writes: “During these difficult midnight hours, I’d visualize Jesus standing beside my [hospital bed]. I imagined Him as a strong, comforting person with a deep, reassuring voice, saying specifically to me, ‘Lo, I am with you always. If I loved you enough to die for you, don’t you think I ought to know best how to run your life even if it means your being paralyzed?’ The reality of this Scripture was that He was with me, now.” Yes, God is always here, always now.

Time marks the beginning of each creature’s existence. This isn’t true of God, and we belong to Him. All concepts of time in the Bible refer to our time, not His. Revelation 4:8 says that He “was and is”—words that allow man to understand some small part of Him. But then it adds, “and is to come!” Was, is, is to come: everlasting now. With God, all things are at the same time.

As humans, we change over the years. Suddenly, we find that we’re more anxious, more nervous, more frail … our moods change, making us unpredictable. It’s so different with God. He does not change (Heb 13:8). When we pray, we’re not subject to His whims or His moods. He always has time for you and me!

Propelled by Time
Psalm 90:5-10 gives a number of comparisons to demonstrate how fleeting life is on earth, and how quickly time goes by: “…as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that … flourishes … fades and withers … The years of our life … are soon gone.” We sleep, dream, and wake, and yet we’re hardly aware of the passage of time. Or, to use a different metaphor, our life is like grass: fresh and green in the morning, but withered and dry by evening.

Propelled as we are by time, man is nonetheless created in the image of the eternal God, and God has placed eternity in his heart (Ecc 3:11). We see this every day. Many are searching for meaning, whether in religion, medical research, or immortality ... through monuments to our achievements and mentions in history books. We desire to live forever, to create something that lasts. This is mankind’s dilemma and tragedy: God’s timelessness stands in sharp contrast to the brevity of human life. This can even be hard on believers ... being created for eternity, and yet forced to live in time. The world around us reminds us of death, dying, decay. “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away” (Ps 90:10).

Many people are looking in the wrong places. “Yet their span is but toil and trouble.” What about us? Don’t we lose touch with eternity, instead being carried away by the bustle and stress of everyday life? We frantically try to work through utopian to-do lists. Worried and driven by time, we’re disappointed when we don’t achieve our goals. We’re resigned because there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

Time is a sequence of events. Eras come and go. The second hand ticks incessantly, making its circuit of the clock face. We compare before and after. Every aspect of our lives is driven by time. But God is not, nor does He depend on the passage of time. “For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night” (Ps 90:4).

Theologian A. W. Tozer helps us think through the idea of time in The Knowledge of the Holy: “Think of a sheet of paper infinitely extended. That would be eternity. Then on that paper draw a short line to represent time. As the line begins and ends on that infinite expanse, so time began in God and will end in Him. That God appears at time’s beginning is not too difficult to comprehend, but that He appears at the beginning and end of time simultaneously is not so easy to grasp; yet it is true.” Tozer sums up, “God dwells in eternity but time dwells in God. He has already lived all our tomorrows as He has lived all our yesterdays.”

In Ephesians 2, Paul writes that we have been raised together in Christ and seated with Him in the heavenly places. God can already see believers with Him in heaven, today! This is what allows Paul to also say, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6). God already sees us as perfected today. Isn’t that tremendous? God can see all things at a glance.

People make predictions and guesses, but we have to wait for time to pass. God speaks and can already see the result. He doesn’t make predictions; He reveals facts to us in His Word.

Home, Sweet Home!
In the midst of transience and faced with his mortality, Moses finds relief in the Lord’s eternality: “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations” (Ps 90:1).

Seek refuge and escape from time into Him. In the busyness of everyday life, flee to God, where there is no rushing, no stress or deadlines. We reach true peace in Him. Our years on earth are numbered and propelled by our various obligations. And so, Moses calls out to God, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Ps 90:12).

The number of our days is determined by God. Thus, we need Him to fill our hearts with wisdom, so we’ll shape our days according to His will. Paul emphasizes the position we have today. We should be concerning ourselves with the things that are above! Remember where we already are at this moment: outside of space and time with God, in God’s “now.”

What’s the source of your anxiety? What’s making you feel rushed? God has unlimited time, and He loves a faith that is patient. God has everything under control: your time, your children’s time, your parents’ time. He can time everything perfectly. God’s Word says that there is a time for everything. When we rely on Him, from His perspective, everything important in our lives has all the time it needs. Maybe not by our own judgment, but He is the One who directs events. This also means that what isn’t intended to happen, doesn’t. Maybe some things remained unresolved, but that was how God chose to work. Let’s leave the matter in His hands.

The fact is, He will always be the only true home for a people plagued and propelled by time. He is our calm, our resolute peace. From Him, from our home with God, we can see our stresses and deadlines from another perspective.

Moses prayed, “Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children” (Ps 90:16). If we want to break free from the misery of transience, God’s rule is precisely the point of it all. How He acts, what He does, how He achieves great things … God’s rule is the answer to man’s restless search. And isn’t His glory visible in His Son? What does it look like in our hearts? Are we internally tormented by the unrest of this world, worried about our lives or our future? Then God is calling out to us today: Find peace in my Son Jesus Christ! Come back home! Come, lay down your burdens and find rest.

The beautiful things of this earth come and go, but one day we will be forever among the greatest beauty, surrounded by God.

Midnight Call - 11/2024