What Time Is It?

That is the question we ask most often – whether we ask others or ourselves. Time is of the essence. Even to be habitually late necessitates reliance on time. We are surrounded by constrictions of schedules and clock-watching. Even retirement requires appointments that require asking, “What time is it?”

Recently, a phrase written by Jim Cymbala caught my eye. The last thirty minutes…and what it intimates. Fear, anticipation, heart-pounding preparation encapsulates the last thirty minutes before an event that is planned. It could be a wedding, the arrival of a baby, an interview, a surgery or procedure, a production, a dinner party and for a soldier before a battle. Any of these events in our lives create tension and concern.

When waiting before the Lord in prayer, there is no time. There is simply waiting in faith. God is not on our schedule. His thoughts are not our thoughts; His ways are not our ways.

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! Romans 11:33

How often we laugh when we hear a child say on a long trip, “Are we there yet?” A question we also often ask. How long? We long for a definitive last 30 minutes so that we can prepare our hearts for whatever is before us.

Long ago, on a hot summer day, I took our four children to the local swimming pool.

I sat in the car and studied for a class while they enjoyed the cooling water. Something drew my eyes to the pool, as I saw our daughter, Anna, climb up the diving tower. I watched as she passed the low and the middle diving boards and went to the top. What is she doing? She is only six years old, and can’t dive yet. I saw her three older brothers yelling at her as she walked to the end of the board. Then she jumped, her red hair, streaming behind her. I started to get out of the car, and then I saw her surface safely.

Later I asked her, wasn’t that scary? She calmly told me that she couldn’t see how far down the water was so she wasn’t scared. I knew her eyes needed glasses. She simply trusted she could do what she saw others do. She trusted. She taught me a lesson that day.

When life comes to the various points of impact, do we have a child-like faith in God and are able to leap into deep water of life? As Anna walked to the end of the board, did her heart pound with ‘what-ifs’? In mid-jump, did she try for a do-over? As she flew through the air, did she ask, ‘How long?’

When we trust God, His will becomes our will, and He trusts us. I recently read, “God trusts us to do His will, to share His will and to live His will.” (“Empty Baskets” by Mike Root, pg 81)

Isaiah 49:8 – begins – “At just the right time, I will respond to you. On the day of salvation I will help you….

God is by our side and just at the right time He responds to us in our lives. We forget this, and we ask with David – “I am sick at heart. How long, O Lord, until you restore me?” Psalm 6:3

What Time Is It?

What time is it? I asked the nurse

As the pain dug deep, The time seemed perverse.

What time is it? I asked, as I waited

To hear how my child fared, And the illness is routed.

What time is it? As the minister speaks.

I look at my watch and wonder If it has been weeks.

What time is it? It is time to enfold

My heart in His, And let His story be told

What time is it? My slowing walk and

I know what time it is, Time to walk the talk.

What time is it? When my heart begins to slow

And I hear angels singing, It’s God- time, I know.

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. Ephesians 3:1