Time is an intriguing phenomenon.  Humans measure time in seconds (nano, micro, milli), minutes, hours, days, weeks, fortnights, months, years, decades, centuries, and millennia.  Humans have recorded events of time past – history.  The future is an unknown except for what the Bible says in the Book of Revelation and some answers to questions by Jesus.  Every tick of the second hand moves the future to the past 86,400 times a day.  The present is the time between the tick and the tock. 

What I need to understand is that I have only the present with which to do anything.  That is – right now.  This very moment.    It’s only in the present – right now – where I can think about the next word that I am going to say.   It is only in the present – right now – where I can reflect on the last word I have said which is now history.  It is the same with actions.  The wrong word – the wrong action will take future time to rectify.  Maybe a lot of time.  Time that could be spent on productive things.  Conversely a right word or action can bring a multitude of blessings.

Time is important in investments.  The more time one has to invest the less money and return or interest is needed to accomplish a financial goal.  As time diminishes there is more money needed to make up the difference or a higher return (more risk) is necessary.  In reality, time is our greatest asset, yet I spend 100% or my daily allotment every day. Time is the one thing I cannot save.  I have the illusion of saving time, but I only spend what I appear to save somewhere else.

The first mention of time is in Genesis chapter 1.  God created time when He began creation.  He created light and separated it from darkness calling the light day and the darkness night.  There was an evening and a morning, which He called the first day.  There are arguments as to whether this was a 24 hour day or a 1,000 year day.  II Peter 3:8 states that a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day to the Lord, but since Genesis 1:1 refers to night and day, morning and evening; I believe it’s a 24 hour day.  The point I am making is God was operating in time during creation.  To the best of my knowledge, this is the only time God has operated in time other than the earthly ministry of Jesus the Messiah.

Time was created for humans.  It is important and I live by it.  I track nearly everything by time.  Although God created time He is not in time.  Therefore, He’s not bound by time.  He is outside of time.  For God there’s no past or future.  He’s always in the present.  This is both important and interesting to me.  There was a time when I would get a headache thinking about eternity.  I would think about being alive a trillion years from now with no end – ever.  It was mind boggling.  Then one day I read in Revelation 10:6 that time will end (KJV, Wycliffe NT Version, Worldwide English NT),  What a relief!  In eternity I’ll always be in the present - no past - no future.  Think about this blessing for a little while.

Then a thought began to develop in my mind.  If God is outside of time, always in the present, then when I ask something of Him, in Jesus’ name, it’s granted in His time frame – in His present.  I, however, may have to live in my realm of time for a while before I experience His answer.  I keep a prayer log of my requests and I don’t go through it often – maybe twice a year.  It always amazes me when I do.  When I go through it I update any activity related to my requests and I often find prayers that have been answered that I had prayed so long ago I had forgotten about them.  I mean years ago.  Prayers I thought He had not answered.  It’s quite faith building.

We as humans tend to see the future as tomorrow and the past as yesterday.  In a sense it is true – today is yesterdays future and tomorrows past, but in reality the past is one second ago and the future is the next second to come.  We are told in the Bible how to handle both of these – the future and the past.  In Matthew 6:34 we are instructed not to worry about tomorrow.  Philippians 3:13 indicates we are to forget the past.  Based on these scriptures I have concluded that when I go into the past with regret, what ifs, and resentments – God stays in the present – and when I go into the future with worries and fears – God stays in the present.  This is where He works – changes and blesses me.  He’s in the now and so should I be.