Have you ever wondered what 2 Peter 3:8 (NASB 1995) means when it says, "But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day."?
I believe one application of this verse is to understand that God is outside of time. We also believe that God is outside of space. We don't seem to struggle as much with that concept. We tend to accept He is present everywhere at the same time.
One of the limitations Jesus took upon Himself to become human was the ability to be in only one place at one time. Since returning to the Father, Jesus again can be in all places at once. God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is omnipresent.
Time seems to be a harder concept.
God created time in the first five verses of Genesis when He separated daytime from nighttime and called it day. Before then, there was eternity past. At some point, we will experience eternity future. In between, we mark our time in years, months, days, hours, minutes and seconds.
God understands these markings of time. He created them. But I don't believe He experiences time the same way we do. I believe God lives simultaneously in what we understand as past, present and future. Doing so would mean God does not look forward in time to the future. It also would mean He does not look backward in time to the past.
We often talk about "living in the moment."
I believe God lives in every moment -- all the time! This amazing and unique ability of God is how He can "declare the end from the beginning" (Isaiah 46:10). For example, suppose someone needs to make a decision at 12:00:00 p.m. (noon) on a certain day. Prior to noon, they would be thinking about what decision to make. At noon, they would make and announce their decision. After noon, they would look for indicators that they made a good decision.
God would be right there the whole time, but He would know their wrestling with which decision to make simultaneously with their wondering whether they made the right decision.
Let me try a practical application. At the time of this writing, my wife and I have two wonderful adult daughters. Both are single. We expect each will marry and have families someday. Assuming they do, God already knows the name, hair color, eye color, sex, gifting and calling of each of our grandchildren (and great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren and so on).
He knows, not because He travels in time and not because He is looking forward in time, but because He is there as those babies are being born and at the same time, He is with us in the present.
We often refer to God's foreknowledge -- His ability to know the future -- as part of His omniscience. We use that terminology because all we know is within the context of time. We perceive and experience everything within the context of time. God, however, is the Great I Am. He doesn't experience reality bound by the constraints of time. To Him, He is simply there.
My daughters will experience their courtships, weddings, marriages, family life and everything else as exercising their free will. That God already knows every detail about these situations doesn't lessen their free will experience.
Seeking His guidance is always wise.
I'm not suggesting we don't seek the Lord's guidance in making our decision. I'm simply suggesting we make a free-will decision to seek the Lord's guidance and a free-will decision to apply that guidance as we are enabled to do so.
The question remains whether people, in fact, are experiencing free will or whether they are merely making choices God predestined them to make. I don't believe God created us to be robots. He created us to want to live in relationship with Him. The former brings no joy to the Creator or the created. The latter brings joy to both.
Think about it.
Do you struggle with time management or wonder how our decisions fit within God's master plan? Why not ask the One who is outside of time to help you see things from His point of view? Share your thoughts or experiences with God's timing in the comments below.
