GPBC Blog

There are many mysteries about God that I wonder about. Lately I have been wondering about time and aging. Why did God make us to get old? Our bodies get frail, we fall and hurt ourselves, or we get sick and die. Why?

The fact is that God created time in the beginning, and it was good. But He exists outside of time. He is everlasting and does not experience time like we do. Why? I don’t know, but I am sure that God in His infinite wisdom knew that time was going to be an important part of our lives.

As I am getting older, the reality of how much time I will have left in this world is becoming a topic that I don’t really want to think about. I want to be an ostrich with my head in the sand. But do I really want that? No, not really. I want to be wise as I venture into my older years.

King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die.” Then in verse 11 he says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” And he was not alone in thinking about the time that God has given humanity. King David wrote about time in the Psalms; Jeremiah wrote about it; Paul wrote about it, and many others.

Earlier this morning I saw an advertisement about pastor Chuck Swindoll celebrating 45 years in ministry. He was making the announcement, and I thought “Oh my, he is looking so old, so frail. When did he age so much.” It was kind of shocking! Then I looked him up on Wikipedia and realized he is almost 90 years old. It seems like the older we get the faster we age.

When I was younger, I did not think much about what it would be like to be in my 70’s. That was so far off I couldn’t waste my mental energy on it. Now I am there and am wondering where the time went. But God doesn’t give up on us as we age. He still has work for us to be doing for His Kingdom. I am encouraged by the following scripture:

• Psalms 31:15: “My times are in your hands.”
• Psalms 90:12: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
• 2 Peter 3:8: “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.”

God may be outside the confines of time, but He is in control of every second of our lives. Even if we are uncertain and filled with anxiety about the future, God is not!! He knows everything, and we can put our hope in Him completely.

I will close these thoughts with Psalms 139. If you haven’t read it lately, please take a minute to see how intimately God cares about each one of us. He knows us! From before we were born to the moment that our eyes will close in death. He is with us. He loves us with an everlasting love. Psalm 139:16-17 says, “And in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!”

God is in control of our time no matter what our age is. Put your trust and your hope in the Lord! He is worthy of all our praise!