Time and Creation - we can define time as duration characterized by changes in what something is or has. Time began at the moment God first spoke light into being on Day 1 of the creation week. Time and change go hand in hand. God does not change. He already knows the future. Time could not exist without God. He exists in eternity, apart from any timeline. Thank God for creating people, things, time, and space in the beginning. He even had His Son Jesus enter time with us and for us because He loves us so much

What Is Time?

Questions about time often arise in discussions of Genesis and Earth’s age. 

Could billions of years have elapsed before the “in the beginning” of Genesis 1? 

When did time start? 

Science and Scripture suggest some answers.

As one of the seven fundamental quantities of physics, time is essential to our existence.

It sets “the stage on which reality plays out.”

It permits possibilities to become real and allows causes to produce effects. 

Over time, we observe matter change state or form.

People grow, learn, and get to know one another and God. 

Because of time, we humans get the privilege of experiencing the present, remembering the past, and hoping for the future.

We can define time as duration characterized by changes in what something is or has. 

For example, an ant can pick up a bit of leaf and thus change what it has. After it dies, its nature changes over time from that of an ant to that of essentially dirt.

Time and change go hand in hand. 

But God does not change. He already knows the future, including theoretical futures.

If He changed who He is, He would cease to be perfect and thus cease to be God. 

He cannot learn anything new because He already knows everything.

Time could not exist without God, yet He does not need time. 

Humans require time to exist.

My potential to be a different me becomes the actual me only through time. 

Over time, we change what we have, such as gaining knowledge or strength. 

And God can change what we are, like from a sinner to a saint.

These descriptions help address the question of how time began. 

“For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible.”

Time may not be visible, but its effects are. 

Time is tightly tied to changing states of visible and invisible entities. 

Without time for the ant to decay, its essence would not change. 

Without time for a girl to learn the gospel, she would not have the opportunity to repent of her sin and trust Christ. 

Thus, time, space, and matter either all exist together or none exist.

When Time Began

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” 

Clearly, no created entities existed before that moment. 

And without material or immaterial entities, how could anyone notice the passage of time? 

So, it looks like “the beginning” marked the first moment of time.

One could make a similar argument about space.

Without space for material like clocks to inhabit, then no clocks could exist to mark the passage of time. 

And God did not create space (“the heavens”) until Genesis 1:1.

Another argument suggests the same conclusion. 

One of God’s first acts of creation was to invent a giant device to mark time - a spinning earth near a light source that delineated evening and morning. 

Hebrews 11:3 says, “The things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” 

Scripture doesn’t record any things or events prior to the beginning, and time is defined by changes in the state of things. 

Apparently, prior to the creation week, there was only God, perfect in His timeless changelessness - just as He still is and will forever remain.

Thus, the Bible suggests there was no time before the beginning of creation.

God, Eternity, Genesis, and Me

I find it hard to comprehend God’s eternal state.

It helps me to note the difference between eternity and endless time.

Endless time would involve the same kind of time we experience now, just elongated forever into the future.

But God does not exist in a state of endless time. 

He exists in eternity, apart from any timeline. 

He can pop into the timeline of our reality anytime He wants. 

He left evidence of having done just that with His many miracles, including the miracle of 

- creating time (“in the beginning”), 

- space (“God made the heavens”) and 

- matter (“and the earth”).

Because it records no time before the beginning’s first moment, Scripture leaves no time for eons of evolution.

Jesus appears to address this when He tells the Pharisees, “But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’”

He could just as easily have said, “But eons after the beginning of creation, God ‘made them male and female.’”

Thank God for creating people, things, time, and space in the beginning. 

He even had His Son Jesus enter time with us and for us because He loves us so much! 

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

So, can we avoid recent creation by fiddling with the meaning of time in Genesis 1? 

Bottom line, we would have a hard time trying to go against the scriptural trend that time began at the moment God first spoke light into being on Day 1 of the creation week.

BY BRIAN THOMAS, PH.D. 

Days of Praise

the Institute for Creation Research 

At the Institute for Creation Research, we want you to know God’s Word can be trusted with everything it speaks about—from how and why we were made, to how the universe was formed, to how we can know God and receive all He has planned for us.

icr.org

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God and Time - when we say things like "God is timeless" or "God has no beginning or end," we are trying to explain God in terms of a dimension by which He is not constrained. God created time. He experiences every moment of time all at once. God's timelessness is part of His perfection. He has neither our need for time nor our time-related limitations, which is just another example of why we can trust Him with our short temporal lives

Signs and Seasons, Days and Years - God created time in the beginning. Then He set the sun and the moon in the sky and made the earth to assume a global shape and to rotate on an axis, making the measurement of time in “days” possible. Then that made “seasons” measurable. Everyone seems to know what is meant by time. We may complain about time going too slow or too fast, but time doesn’t go anywhere. But neither does it “stand still”

A Purpose for Everything Under the Heavens - you are not here by accident. There is a great Designer who planned every detail of who you are and the glorious plan you are to fulfill. You were not born simply to occupy space — to eat food, go to the bathroom, sleep, and get up the next morning to start the same dull, boring routine all over again. No. There is a reason you are here on this earth. You have a God-assigned, God-given purpose

Changes - change comes with years, and years come with change. Since we'll never escape it, we might as well learn to ride those winds of change. Here's a beautiful truth: we don't face the winds of change alone. God is our anchor, our constant, our steady and invariable stability. We can feel like we're drowning in a sea of change but know this: He is our next breath of forever. Consider the words to this great old hymn: Because He lives, I can face tomorrow; because He lives all fear is gone. And remember, some change is not so bad after all

"For I am the LORD, I do not change." - Malachi 3:6

You know I don't like change. 

But I suppose subtle changes, the result of time and perspective, they're not so bad. 

I like the confidence that comes from experience. 

I like the assurance that troubling times won't last. 

I like the growth that has resulted from pain and the perspective that keeps me looking for the silver lining in the clouds. 

I've been through cloudy days, the rain, the thunder and lightning, and even a few hurricanes. 

Little orphan Annie was right: the sun will come out tomorrow.

Change comes with years, and years come with change. 

Since we'll never escape it, we might as well learn to ride those winds of change. 

Here's a beautiful truth: we don't face the winds of change alone. 

God is our anchor, our constant, our steady and invariable stability. 

We can feel like we're drowning in a sea of change but know this: He is our next breath of forever.

Consider the words to this great old hymn: Because He lives, I can face tomorrow; because He lives all fear is gone. 

And remember, some change is not so bad after all.

My God; my Anchor; my Rock - as I face changes, help me to rest in the security of knowing You.

You don't change. 

Big things or small, easy or trying, Your grace is enough. 

May I face this day with confidence and poise from Your throne and fountain! 

Amen.

Lord Jesus, prepare me for Your rain. 

Pour out living water on me. 

Refresh me and fill me from Your fountains that will never run dry. 

Amen.

Further Reading

Deuteronomy 16:1-17:20

Luke 9:7-27

Psalm 72:1-20

Proverbs 12:8-9

Pastor Rod Parsley

Your Daily Devotion from Pastor Rod Parsley

Rodney Lee Parsley is a prominent American Christian minister, author, television host and evangelist. He is senior pastor of World Harvest Church, a large nondenominational church in Canal Winchester, Ohio; a suburb of Columbus, which has a sister campus in Elkhart, Indiana. 

PastorRodParsley@breakthrough.net

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The Father of the heavenly lights does not change like shifting shadows - we understand God’s sorrow over man’s sin. The fact that we are alive today is proof that God did not “change His mind” about the creation. God is entirely consistent. Because God does not change, He must treat the righteous differently from the unrighteous. If someone repents, God forgives; if someone refuses to repent, God consistently judges. He is unchanging in His nature, His plan and His being

God Rewards - in Christ, God remembers your work, your words, your tears and your desires, but He does not remember your sins. God puts a finger of mercy on the scars of his children. One day, every believer will shine with a radiance that reflects the beauty of Jesus when He comes to take up His jewels. All His jewels, precious jewels His loved and His own, like the stars of the morning His bright crown adorning, they shall shine in their beauty, bright gems for His own

Book of Remembrance - those who continue to honor the Lord when many around them fall away can rest in the confidence that their names are written in God’s book of remembrance. He hears and knows the intent of every heart and desires to honor those who honor Him. Faithful service may go on for years with no apparent reward, but He is taking note. Scripture is clear that loyalty to God does not go unnoticed or unrewarded. There is coming a day when He will act

A Thousand Years Are Like a Day - as Christians are persecuted and continue to look for the Lord to deliver them, it does appear as though His coming is “delayed.” Peter reminds the believers not to lose heart because God is working on a different timetable. Time is simply not an issue with God. The point is, that no matter how long it takes, God will keep His word — He will return one day to judge the world and rescue His people. Christians need to adopt an eternal perspective on time. We have all eternity before us to receive the promises of God. We need to wait as patiently for the Lord as the persecuted believers of the first century did and, as they, “live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God”

What does 2 Peter 3:8 mean when it says a thousand years are a day?

“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” - (2 Peter 3:8).

The context is the key to determining the correct understanding of this passage, especially the comparison of a thousand years to one day. 

The context of 2 Peter 3 is the return of the Lord to deliver His people. 

Peter tells the persecuted believers that scoffers will come and mock the idea that the Lord will return.

They will say something like, “He’s been gone a long time; He’s not ever coming back” (see verse 4). 

As Christians are persecuted and continue to look for the Lord to deliver them, it does appear as though His coming is “delayed.”

Peter reminds the believers not to lose heart because God is working on a different timetable. 

For a human being, if something doesn’t happen within a matter of years, then we may miss it.

God, however, is not limited by the same constraints of time because “with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” 

Time is simply not an issue with God because He has an unlimited amount of it. 

If the average person sees something in the store, it would make no difference whether it cost a penny or a dime, even though one is ten times more expensive than the other.

If a billionaire wanted to buy a piece of property it might make no difference to him whether it cost $50,000 or $500,000 or even $5,000,000. 

This is the idea of the verse — both a day and a thousand years are such miniscule amounts of time to God that it really makes no difference to Him.

If a person promises to do something, there is a finite amount of time available for him to keep that promise.

If an elderly father promises to buy his son a home, there is a limited amount of time available to him. 

As year after year passes and he does not buy the home, the son may begin to wonder if he ever will.

Ultimately, if the father dies before keeping the promise and does not leave the son anything in his will, then the promise has expired. 

We must not look at the promises of God through the lens of human time. 

If God is working a plan that will take ten thousand years to unfold, it is no different to Him than if His plan took 10 days to unfold. 

The point of 2 Peter 3 is, that no matter how long it takes, God will keep His word — “the Lord is not slow in keeping his promises” (verse 8)

— specifically, He will return one day to judge the world and rescue His people. 

The fact that it has not happened yet is absolutely no indication that He will not do it. 

As people with eternal life, Christians need to adopt an eternal perspective on time. 

We have all eternity before us to receive the promises of God. 

We need not fret if it looks like our lives may end before we get everything we have been promised. 

If the Lord does not come back for another 50,000 years, that is less than two months (sixty “days”), using a literal reckoning of verse 8. 

The main point is that, given the amount of time available to God, time is just not a concern.

Some who hold to old earth creationism use 2 Peter 3:8 to bolster their view that the “days” of Genesis 1 were not literal days but long eons of time. 

If “a day is like a thousand years,” the reasoning goes, then the word day in the creation narrative cannot mean a literal, twenty-four-hour day. 

The problem is that God is not attempting to redefine our words in 2 Peter 3:8. 

Peter does not say that one day is a thousand years; he says that one day is like a thousand years. 

In other words, he is using figurative language to make his point. 

The point is not that we should interpret the word day as “a thousand years” everywhere we find it in Scripture.

Rather, the point is that the passing of time has no bearing on God’s faithfulness to His promises.

He is “the same yesterday and today and forever” - (Hebrews 13:8). 

Besides, the day-age theory requires much more than 6,000 years in the creation “week.”

Some others also go astray in their interpretation of 2 Peter 3:8 by taking it as a literal, mathematical equation. 

Some who hold to young earth creationism estimate that Earth has been around about 6,000 years or, according to the mathematical equation in 2 Peter 3:8, about six “days.” 

Seven is the number of perfection and completion, so, the speculation goes, the whole of human history will last one week — that is, seven days (7,000 years).

The millennial kingdom of 1,000 years is the seventh day of rest. 

Since the seventh day is still to come and will be inaugurated by the Lord’s return, and since we have already been on Earth for 6 days, then the Lord must return soon. 

Some go further in their calculations and set specific dates — always an exercise in folly.

While the “seven-day theory” looks attractive given our particular point in history — about 6,000 years in, or somewhere near the end of the sixth day — it goes against the spirit of the verse. 

The whole point of the passage is that we cannot know when the Lord will return because He is operating on a different timetable. 

We need to wait patiently, knowing that the Lord “is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” - (2 Peter 3:9).

Verse 8 does not give us a cryptic equation to enable us to figure out when He will return. 

If that were the case, it would seem that Peter would have been able to figure it out and could simply have told the persecuted believers that the Lord would return in about 2,000 years.

He didn’t do that because he didn’t know when the Lord would return.

And neither do we. 

We need to wait as patiently for the Lord as the persecuted believers of the first century did and, as they, “live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God” (verses 11–12).

Welcome to GotQuestions.org, the flagship website of Got Questions Ministries, a network of sites with a shared mission: to glorify God and reach people for Christ by providing biblical answers to spiritually related questions. We are Christian, evangelical, theologically conservative, and nondenominational. As a parachurch ministry, our purpose is to come alongside the Church, joining in the Great Commission Jesus entrusted to His followers, by offering support and answers to those seeking clarity on spiritually related questions.

Whether you are seeking guidance, looking for 7answers, or are curious about spiritual matters, we are here to serve you, support you, and share the profound truths of God’s Word with you. Got questions? The Bible has answers. We’ll help you find them!

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Great and Precious Promises - the final promise of the Bible is the wonderful assurance of Christ concerning His glorious second coming: “Surely I come quickly.” Sandwiched between these great and precious promises are over 3,800 other promises. Some of these are in the form of promised warnings to the sinner, but promises, nonetheless. Most promises, however, are to the obedient follower of God, and we know that “he is faithful that promised” - “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us”

God's Time - God has appointed a "season" for everything. Seasons have beginnings and endings. They last, but not too long. Within any give season, there is a point in time in which God has ordained everything to happen. Praise God that neither good times nor bad times last; only eternity does. At the appropriate point in time, God will make everything fit into the season of your life. It's like the pieces of a puzzle. It's through faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior that God can make your life beautiful, and He does it in His own time. Perhaps today

Time and Creation - we can define time as duration characterized by changes in what something is or has. Time began at the moment God first spoke light into being on Day 1 of the creation week. Time and change go hand in hand. God does not change. He already knows the future. Time could not exist without God. He exists in eternity, apart from any timeline. Thank God for creating people, things, time, and space in the beginning. He even had His Son Jesus enter time with us and for us because He loves us so much

Redeeming the Time - time is a very valuable asset in danger of being lost forever unless it is rescued or redeemed. Time is just about the most valuable asset we have. If we squander our money or lose our health, there is always the possibility of earning more money or being restored to health, but wasted time is gone forever. Those who are wise redeem the time, whereas those who are fools waste or misuse it. Those who redeem the time are walking diligently - they are walking in wisdom. The time God gives us should be used both carefully and diligently - wasted time is gone forever. Each day of our lives is vitally important in the plan of God

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 

"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” - (Ephesians 5:15-16)

This incisive expression — “redeeming the time”—occurs also in Colossians 4:5: 

“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.” 

The Greek word for “redeem” means to “buy back,” to “ransom,” or even to “rescue.” 

That is, time is a very valuable asset in danger of being lost forever unless it is rescued or redeemed.

As a matter of fact, time is just about the most valuable asset we have. 

If we squander our money or lose our health, there is always the possibility of earning more money or being restored to health, but wasted time is gone forever. 

In our text, those who are wise redeem the time, whereas those who are fools waste or misuse it. 

The word in the original for “circumspectly” is translated “diligently” in Matthew 2:7. 

The text thus indicates that those who redeem the time are walking diligently; the parallel passage in Colossians 4:5 says they are walking in wisdom. 

The time God gives us, therefore, should be used both carefully and diligently.

The marvelous passage in the 139th Psalm that describes the growth of the human embryo concludes with a remarkable declaration: 

“In thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them” - (Psalm 139:16).

The words “my members" are not in the original, and “in continuance” is actually the Hebrew word for “days.” 

Thus, the verse is really telling us that all of our days were written in God’s book even before we were conceived. 

Each day of our lives is vitally important in the plan of God.

As Moses prayed to the Lord, “So, teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” - (Psalm 90:12).

BY HENRY M. MORRIS, PH.D. 

Days of Praise

the Institute for Creation Research 

At the Institute for Creation Research, we want you to know God’s Word can be trusted with everything it speaks about—from how and why we were made, to how the universe was formed, to how we can know God and receive all He has planned for us.

icr.org

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God and Time - when we say things like "God is timeless" or "God has no beginning or end," we are trying to explain God in terms of a dimension by which He is not constrained. In our universe time is basically linear. We go forward at a fairly steady rate, give or take allowances for velocity and gravity. We cannot go back in time, and we cannot experience more than one instant at a time. God created time. God's timelessness is part of His perfection. He can see everything that will ever happen in human history and exactly how we can be the most effective to use that history to bring people to Him. He has neither our need for time nor our time-related limitations, which is just another example of why we can trust Him with our short temporal lives

How To Live In The End Times - Christians should
always be ready for Christ’s return. His imminent coming will make us live in holiness and do His work quickly. Anticipating Christ’s return and overcoming the devil requires us to recognize the signs of the times and remain informed about global events. Jesus will return in our time — with unprecedented moral decadence, political unrest, economic turmoil, plagues, and natural disasters. Be discerning about what you hear from pastors, teachers, or prophets and stand firm in your faith, even amid persecution. It is impossible to fully describe the joy and glory that await those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Nothing in this world can compare to the eternal bliss that awaits them

Signs that indicate the end times are approaching - the most prominent sign of the end times is the nation of Israel itself. In 1948, Israel was recognized as a sovereign state. Having Israel as a nation in its own land is important in light of end-times prophecy because of Israel’s prominence in eschatology. God promised Abraham that his posterity would have Canaan as “an everlasting possession.” An increase in false messiahs, an increase in warfare, and famines, plagues, and natural disasters - these are signs of the end times. These events are only the beginning of birth pains the end is still to come. God has given us enough information that we can prepare, as our hearts cry out, “Come, Lord Jesus”

God's Time - God has appointed a "season" for everything. Seasons have beginnings and endings. They last, but not too long. Within any give season, there is a point in time in which God has ordained everything to happen. Praise God that neither good times nor bad times last; only eternity does. Everyone goes through good times and bad times; together they make up the season of your life. It's not the times of our lives that shape us, but the seasons. At the appropriate point in time, God will make everything fit into the season of your life. It's like the pieces of a puzzle. It's through faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior that God can make your life beautiful, and He does it in His own time. Perhaps today

Pearl of Wisdom

"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven." - Ecclesiastes 3:1

Our lives revolve around time. If I asked you what time it is, I have a pretty good idea what you'd do.

You'd glance at your watch, check the time and respond appropriately.

If you were enjoying what you were doing at the moment, you might exclaim, "My, how time flies!"

If you weren't especially happy about what you were doing, you'd probably groan, "Is it only _____?"

Time has been the theme of ballads like "As Time Goes By," and a common excuse for many failures is, "I didn't have time."

Most of us check our watch several times a day -- or several times an hour.

Sometimes we do it more often than we should, like when we're in church. All of this only goes to show how involved we are with time.

But actually, time, as we know it, is a very recent phenomenon.

Through the persistence of Charles Dodd, a schoolteacher, and William Allen, a railroad engineer, time was finally standardized in the United States on November 10, 1883.

It was only after American railroads accepted Dodd and Allen's idea of four time zones across the United States that trains could schedule their arrivals and departures with any degree of consistency.

Before that, every community decided what time it was on their own. It took another year for a meeting of 26 nations to determine the 24-hour worldwide time zones that we use today.

Nor have we always had seven days in our week. 

Back in 1792 the French tried a ten-day week with ten hours in a day, 100 minutes in an hour and 100 seconds in a minute. But it didn't work.

Undaunted, the Russians tried a five-day week in 1929 and even named the days of the week after colors. But nobody paid any attention, so the Russians switched to a six-day week in 1932.

Finally, they abandoned the whole idea and returned to the standard seven-day week.

Although the way we describe time hasn't been around all that long, God has been working with time since the beginning of creation.

In fact, He's the originator of time. The first mention of time is in Genesis 1:5: "So the evening and the morning were the first day."

But the great time chapter of the Bible is Ecclesiastes 3.

In this chapter the word “time” occurs on 28 occasions in 14 pairs of polar opposites divided into seven groups.

Seven, the number of completeness, suggests that these contrasting pairs cover almost every conceivable experience of man, beginning with birth and ending with death.

So what time is it for you? 

How are you using your time? 

What does time hold in store for you?

Perhaps you will find answers to some of your time questions in the time chapter, Ecclesiastes 3.

Season and time

The first phrase in Ecclesiastes 3:1 gives us the right perspective on time: "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven."

The two words here -- season and time -- imply duration and a point in time.

Because everything has a season, nothing (at least on earth) lasts forever. God has appointed a "season" for everything.

Seasons have beginnings and endings. They last, but not too long.

In the life cycle there is a season for gestation, a season for childhood and youth, a season for middle age and a season for old age, followed by death. It's all quite natural; it's all ordained by God.

The word translated "time" means "a point in time."

Within any give season, there is a point in time in which God has ordained everything to happen.

Within the season of our older youth, my wife and I decided to get married. We were in the season of our 20s, but the time was June 26.

So season means a period of time and time means a point in time.

Solomon's thesis is this: Every activity of mankind has a proper time and a predetermined duration.

Our lives will be a lot less stressful if we recognize that the omniscient hand of God has appointed a time when things are to be done, and He has a predetermined duration for those things to last.

Examples of polar opposites

Solomon now demonstrates how this process of time fitting into a season takes place.

For example, verse 2 says, "A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted."

Nature has a season of growth, but within that season there is a time to plant and a time to harvest.

Sowing first, then, after a duration, harvesting. How often we allow the tyranny of time to rob us of the patience of seasons.

There's also the process of constructing and destroying or tearing down.

A building is built in a few months, and then, 50 years or so later, that building is torn down.

The destruction of the building is usually faster than its construction, but the duration (season) is always longer than either the time of building or the time of tearing down.

Verse 5 says, "A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones."

Again, using the image of building, Solomon says, "There's a time to cast away the stones from your fields so that you can farm the field. And then there's a time to pick up those stones on the edge of the field and build a house with them."

Building and rebuilding are what the seasons of our lives are all about.

Verse 6 continues this thought: "A time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away."

There is a time to go shopping (the time your wife likes best) and a time to throw old, useless things away (the time she hates the most).

If you're a shopper by nature -- you have that extra shopping gene that impels you to drop everything and go shopping -- you know how easy it is to enjoy the time for acquiring new things.

But do you have the same disposition when it comes time to part with those things?

After the season of usefulness, the time to gain is past; the time to throw away has come.

I have to admit, the pain of this time has been greatly reduced with the invention of the garage sale.

There is duration -- a season of time -- for everything, and then there is a point in time for change.

Solomon's example of polar opposites in verse 7 may seem strange to you: "A time to tear, and a time to sew."

In the Middle East, tearing was a sign of mourning.

Sewing your clothes after the mourning period was over was the signal to return to a life of joy.

Remember when Job's three friends came to comfort him? The first thing Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar did was weep.

Then "each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven" - (Job 2:12).

There is a time to show that you're commiserating with someone -- a time to tear your gown. 

But then there's also a time to move beyond your sorrow and to sew the gown again.

Everyone goes through good times and bad times; together they make up the season of your life. It's not the times of our lives that shape us, but the seasons.

Make sure you don't live only for the good times; when the bad times come, and they will, you won't have the strength to handle them.

And make sure you don't let the bad times defeat you. If you do, you'll miss out on all the good times God still has in store for you.

It takes both to make a life. Make certain your attitude toward life is such that, even if you can't enjoy all the times, you do enjoy the season.

Praise God that neither good times nor bad times last; only eternity does.

Even the polar opposites in verse 8 can be understood if we place time into the arena of duration: "A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."

Of course, Solomon is not advocating either hate or war.

But the reality is, there are things for us to hate (the things God hates), and there may be a time for us to fight (as God's people, Israel, did).

His point is that we are to balance all the times of our lives so that the season pleases God. That's a pearl of wisdom.

If things aren't going your way, give it time.

If things are going your way, prepare for the time when they won't.

Set your sights on the duration season, not on the peaks and valleys of time.

Build your life on God's Word and you will be a seasoned Christian.

Build your life on the things that happen in time, and you will be a soured Christian.

All things beautiful

Why does Solomon say all these things about time?

The answer is found in verse 11: "He [God] has made everything beautiful in its time."

At the appropriate point in time, God will make everything fit into the season of your life. It's like the pieces of a puzzle.

You struggle to piece things together, and then all of a sudden, things just seem to fall into place.

That's what happens when you commit both your times and your seasons to God.

The word translated "beautiful" doesn't mean "lovely" or "pretty." It means "fitting," "appropriate" or "proper."

There is a fitting point in time that God has determined something should happen.

Accordingly, God will never be late and He'll never be early. Furthermore, He knows the proper duration for that event. He never holds it over too long or cuts it off too short.

In the same fashion, God knows the most fitting points and the most appropriate seasons of our lives as well.

He knows exactly the number of days He's given to you, and nobody can shorten those days; nobody can lengthen them either.

Our times and seasons are in God's hand. And what we entrust to God's hand, God makes "proper" in its time.

So, what does that mean -- God makes everything fitting or proper in its own time? Consider the polar opposites in verse 2 again as an example: "A time to be born, and a time to die."

Is it possible that God can make even death beautiful in its time? He can.

At the proper time, God makes death fitting. He makes it appropriate. He makes it proper.

There is a time for us to be born -- a day in which God determines we will be born -- and there's also a day in which God determines that our life on this side of the grave will end.

A time to be born, and a time to die. To shorten our days through suicide or to lengthen them through heroic care fails to demonstrate faith in God's ability to know the proper season of our lives.

After Jacob had seen his long-lost son Joseph, he said, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive" - (Genesis 46:30).

He knew his days had been fulfilled. The duration -- the season -- was done. The exact day of his death was in God's hands. But Jacob knew this season of his life had reached its completion.

Going according to plan

If God has already determined the times and seasons of our lives, is it possible to die before our time? In a sense it is.

Solomon exhorted, "Do not be overly wicked, nor be foolish: why should you die before your time?" -  (Ecclesiastes 7:17).

Through wickedness or self-will, we can deprive ourselves of the fullness of days that God would have liked to have given us, but even this must be approved by God and is a part of His eternal plan.

For a believer, the thought that not only do we have a time to be born, but there is a set duration before our death, is a tremendous comfort.

It means everything is going according to God's plan.

The apostle John said, "Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, 'Write: "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord"'“ - (Revelation 14:13).

The psalmist added, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints" - (Psalm 116:15).

Of course, we still don't look forward to death. And when death comes to our family -- to our spouse, to our little children, to our parents -- we always say, "Why, Lord? Why now?"

But we must never forget that God has a duration for our life.

In God's grace He will not allow one day more or one day less than that duration. It's all according to His divine plan.

And here's one final and exciting possibility within God's plan. It is also possible that those in Christ will never die.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:17, Paul says, "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."

It is possible that the season of our lives will simply be swallowed up in the eternity of God.

The omnipotent One can interrupt the sequence of "a time to be born and a time to die," and one day He will do just that. Perhaps today!

Whether God chooses to take us to Himself through the blessing of death or the blessed hope, in God's plan we end up being with Him forever.

Instead of fretting about the days of our lives or worrying about how long we will live, life would be more enjoyable if we simply rested in the Lord and committed all those days to Him, including our final days.

In a world of heroic medical care and wonder drugs, let's not forget that just as the day of our birth was part of God's eternal timetable, so is the day of our death.

None of us likes the idea of facing death, but those who have trusted Jesus Christ as Savior can face it very differently than those who are fearing the consequences of their sin.

For believers, the day of our death is another day to glorify the Lord. The day when we die is simply another day to commit to a loving and omniscient God.

The day of our death is, in His hands, every bit as wonderful as the day of our birth. 

"This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it" - (Psalm 118:24).

When you live and die in the knowledge of God's eternal plan, you live and die with this confidence -- God makes all things beautiful in their time.

Are you tired of everything in your life going wrong?

Are you fed up with trying to make things in your life lovely and easy and pleasant, only to have them turn out messy and hard and distasteful?

Maybe you've gone the whole route. 

You've been through alcohol, you've been through drugs, you've been through sex addiction, you've been through climbing the ladder of success -- and your life is still a colossal mess.

But don't give up yet. There is an answer. The answer is Jesus Christ in your life.

It's through faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior that God can make your life beautiful, and He does it in His own time.

And maybe -- just maybe -- this is God's time for you. Let Him make your life beautiful.

By Woodrow Kroll

Woodrow Kroll is the president and Bible teacher for Back to the Bible, a ministry of international media. Author of more than fifty books, Kroll served as the president of Practical Bible College in Binghamton, New York, before joining Back to the Bible. He and his wife, Linda, live in Ashland, Nebraska. They have four married children and thirteen grandchildren.

backtothebible.org

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Everything Beautiful in His Time - we may not understand many things in our time but all that happens to us if accepted and applied according to God's Word, becomes beautiful. All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Those who have experienced His lovingkindness, trusted in His goodness, and surrendered to His authority take comfort in knowing Him as the Lord of their lives

Time and Creation - we can define time as duration characterized by changes in what something is or has. Time and change go hand in hand. God does not change. He already knows the future. Time could not exist without God. He exists in eternity, apart from any timeline. Thank God for creating people, things, time, and space in the beginning. He even had His Son Jesus enter time with us and for us because He loves us so much

God and Time - when we say things like "God is timeless" or "God has no beginning or end," we are trying to explain God in terms of a dimension by which He is not constrained. God created time. He experiences every moment of time all at once. God's timelessness is part of His perfection. He has neither our need for time nor our time-related limitations, which is just another example of why we can trust Him with our short temporal lives