From the moment you are conceived, your clock starts ticking. And you are placed on a timer. Your parent(s) is given an expected due date for your arrival. If you arrive on this due date, it is said you came on time. If you come before, it is said you came early and in some instances pre-term or premature. And if you come after, you are said to have come late, and at times intervention may be required. Tic toc…tic toc… And the rush begins.
The Clock
Everyone has a clock. Tic toc…tic toc… And like every clock, it will give out at some point. When that will happen, we do not know. So we go about life rushing. Rushing to be right on time. Too early and we may not be mature enough to handle what we are chasing. Too late…and well…who wants to be late?
Tic toc…tic toc...the clock is ticking. Except, we can’t see the clock. So, we don’t know whether we are early, on time or too late. Tic toc…tic toc…It continues to tic and toc. We can hear it, but we can’t see it. So we come up with a solution. We will create a clock that we can see. A clock that will be our benchmark. A clock that will favour the early, because we are all on a race against time. And since we don’t know when time will run out, we will try to outrun it.
We created a clock. A clock that created an urgency in us. An urgency to tick off our goals and achievements. And in so doing “win”. A clock that applauds us when we adhere to it and shames us when we don’t.
Jesus, 30 is a bit late to be starting on your purpose…don’t you think?
Paul…you got saved a while ago, why are you only going on your first mission now, 13 years later?!
Isaac, you need to get married…you are 40 years old for goodness sake! At least have a child or something!
Sarah…your eggs got scrambled a long time ago…who do you think you are to think you can birth a child at your age?!
Abraham…the promise was made 24 years ago! Stop building sand castles in the air and accept your fate!
Moses…oh Moses…you are 80 years old. Truly God can find a younger deliverer!
David, listen, you were anointed 13 years ago and you still aren’t king. Maybe Samuel got it wrong!
Tic toc…tic toc…
So we rush. We rush to beat the clock we created. There is just one problem. We did not create time.
Time’s Creator
If we did not create time, if we can’t see our clocks, then how do we know if we are right on time?
And this has been my contention. Life on the created clock is straightforward. You know what you are supposed to do and when you are supposed to do it. It does not mean life is any easier…but at least you know 1+1 should eventually resemble 2.
Life submitted to time’s Creator…not so much. It means leaving the world’s calendar and consciously agreeing to His calendar. And this is the kicker…time’s Creator is not in the rush!
That is why He can look at Jesus and say 30 is the time for your ministry to begin and 33 is the time for you to come home.
The same Creator looks at Moses and says…40 years you shall be in the palace, 40 years you shall live in exile and 40 years you shall roam about the desert with the people I deliver through you.
Time’s Creator tells Abraham, you shall receive the promise at the age of 100. And since you will cross over at the age of 175, you will get sufficient time to enjoy the promise.
Time’s Creator looks at David and the 13 or 14 years he spent in the wilderness, waiting for the promise. But what is 14 years in lieu of the 40 years he reigned as a king?
Time’s Creator is in no rush. He has the master plan. He knows how everything all ends. And He knows how everything and everyone fits into the jigsaw puzzle of life.
So..?
As we draw to the end of 2019 and look forward to a new decade, will you decide to submit to Time’s Creator? FYI…easier said than done!
Or will you continue to participate in the rush? FYI…this is the easier choice!
Whatever decision you make, will you ,like Moses, pray:
Teach us (me) to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12