I live and die by my calendar. I schedule dinners with friends, yoga classes, weekend trips, and laundry nights. Even my job is dictated by rigid deadlines. It’s safe to say that if I haven’t planned it, it probably won’t get done.
Because my time feels so regimented, I often drag God into the calendar boxes with me. When I need something, or I’m waiting for God to move, or I’m expecting an answered prayer, I find myself reminding God that he’s on my schedule.“God, please hurry up so we can stay on track. We’re in the eleventh hour and you don’t have much time left.”
It’s almost laughable to tell the creator of the universe that he’s running out of time. He created time. He created night and day(Genesis1:4). The God who existed before our human constructs of time is not limited by my calendar.
Psalm 90:4 (NLT) tells me that God isn’t beholden to the clock like I am. “For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours.”
Peter brings this up again in 2 Peter 3:8 (NLT) which says, “But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.”
Peter reminds us that the passage of time matters more to us than to God. God doesn’t need a few weeks or months or years to get his ducks in a row and complete a task. Peter continues in the next verse: “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake.”
How often do I scream at God, a deadline looming, that he’s running out of time? And then when he seems to not be moving quickly enough, I take control. Scripture warns against this, instead directing us to rely on God.
Proverbs 3:5-6, the verses one of my favorite childhood songs is based on, says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
A few chapters later, Proverbs 16:9 says, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”
Here’s a hard reality: I’ve been known to get it wrong. My track record when it comes to controlling my life isn’t that great. God’s life grade is 100%, and the speed at which he’s working in my life is FOR MY SAKE. His timing was perfect when Sarai’s dream to have a child was fulfilled. His timing was perfect in the years it took for the Israelites to reach the Promised Land. His timing for raising his Son Jesus from the grave was perfect, too.
I can plan and schedule and direct and control, but God’s way has been, and always will be, better than mine. Regardless of my calendar, God will always be right on time.
God is Running Out of Time
