At Peace with God's Time

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11                  John 7:1-9

At Peace with God’s Time

Time is a concept most people struggle with – you will often hear people say things like: “I don’t have enough time” or “time flies” – which seems to indicate that they think time is an uncontrollable entity. But God ordained time to be a structuring tool for man’s benefit and as such time can be ordered if it is subject to God’s priorities. This was the purpose for the six days of creation – to establish and demonstrate a divine and ideal pattern for work and rest. Therefore, time should be used wisely and according to biblical principles. Time is precious in the sense that once a moment has passed, it can never be recaptured…but thankfully, with God, time can be redeemed.

We often think of time as something we can try to master and manipulate…and so we have planners and diaries and calendars. But, if we forget about God’s providence or God’s timing, we will all too frequently find ourselves being reactionary…reacting (or perhaps overreacting) to unplanned incidents which seem to bulldoze their way into our schedules. 

Like the frantic man who called an insurance agency asking if he could insure his home over the phone. The agent said yes, but that he would need to see and inspect the home first, to which the now very agitated man exclaimed: “Well, you had better get here right away because the place is burning down!”

Time is God’s gift to us…but it is a gift that comes with operating instructions. As the future – in fact the very next millisecond – is known to God alone, it stands to reason that he alone would know how we ought to use time. So it would be wise and prudent if we would at least view time in the light of God’s providential will and then attempt to live according to that. 

“Now listen,” James says, “you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’” (James 4:13-15)

In other words, we must submit to God’s perfect will and move within the boundaries of the time he gives us. Jesus illustrates this point to his brothers in our Gospel passage for today. 

First, he shows them (and us) that the wise use of time is rational and reasonable. Providence is not the same as fate…life is not based on luck or chance. Time is sovereignly controlled by an almighty God. We should not adopt a “whatever will be will be” attitude to life and expect everything to fall into place. There are certain reasons why we ought to do something and certain reasons why we ought not do something. 

In this particular case, Jesus had made a wise decision based on the evidence at hand. The Jews in Judea wanted to kill him. Consequently, he prudently preferred to stay in Galilee. This was not an act of cowardice, but rather a reasoned and rational choice to avoid potentially violent conflict. It was an act of self-preservation. Jesus knew that the time would come when he would have to face the inevitable, but that time had not yet come. 

There are many who would rather have Jesus resign himself to fate than move with caution. Was he not God? Could he not avert such attempts on his life? Interestingly, this line of thought is similar to Satan’s temptation on the pinnacle of the temple: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” To which Jesus replied: “It is written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Luke 4:9-12)

It is also like what Jesus said to Peter after the zealous disciple had cut of the ear of the high priest’s servant: “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will die by the sword. Do you not think that even now I cannot pray to my Father and that he would provide me with more than twelve legions of angels? But then how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen this way?” (Matthew 26:52-54). 

Of course, Jesus was and is God and, as such, he could do anything…but he was also human and as a human he humbled himself and chose to live his life as a limited, finite human being submitted to the will and purposes of God. And so, he moved within the parameters of God’s time. 

God has never expected his people to knowingly walk into harm’s way unless he had a good reason and a good purpose for doing so. We all know that Jesus did return to Jerusalem, but only when he knew his time had come…he went knowing full well that he would be murdered. Paul also returned to Jerusalem even though many begged him not to go because God had revealed through prophetic speech what he would be captured and incarcerated. 

But this is not the same as the blind charge of the light brigade. 

“Forward, the Light Brigade!”

Was there a man dismayed?

Not though the soldier knew

Someone had blundered.

Theirs not to make reply,

Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to do and die.

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred. 

(The Charge of the Light Brigade, Alfred, Lord Tennyson)

No. The rational and reasonable use of time coupled with divine guidance through regular Bible Study and prayer (Daniel is a great example here) is not blind or fatalistic. God has given us an intellect to sensibly determine the nature of any given situation, and he had given us the ability to make responsible decisions in the light of such evidence. And so Jesus decision to stay in Galilee was wise and prudent.

Then, secondly, Jesus showed his brothers (and us) that we are to remain steadfast in our decision to use time God’s way, even when others demand compromise from us. I’m sure you all know exactly what I mean: that age old “guilt trip” or “shaming” tactic…a tactic used when others want to persuade you to do something you have already said “no” to.  

“No one who wants to be known,” the brothers asserted, “remains hidden. Since you do such great works, reveal yourself to the world!” 

John tells us that the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot was at hand. Along with Passover and the Festival of Weeks, Sukkot was one of three notable pilgrimage feasts, associated with the Exodus as the other two, but also more particularly with the annual harvest. As a rule, Jewish men were expected to come before the Lord in the Temple in Jerusalem. 

The feast would begin on the 15th day of the seventh month, on the first day of the week. This first day was a holy day on which no common work was allowed. The feast continued for seven days, during which the people made regular offerings (Num. 29:13–16) and lived in temporary tabernacles, or tents. The eighth day, considered the greatest day of the festival, was another holy day and a time on which the people could make one last offering (Num. 29:35–38).

Now, by the time of Jesus, additional extra biblical rituals had been added that can be found in the Talmud (Tractate Sukkah). These additions included the increased use of lights and the singing of Psalms 113–118 and Psalms 120–135. The feast concluded with an elaborate water pouring ceremony based on several prophetic passages about life-giving water (see Isa. 12:2–3; Ezek. 47:1–2; Zech. 14:16–19). Every day, water would be drawn from the Pool of Siloam and then carried up to the altar as an elaborate parabolic prayer for rain and every night the people would gather to dance and sing praises to God for his blessings during the wilderness wanderings and for the anticipated good harvest that year in the light of the huge candelabras set up in the court of the women. 

On that final great day of the Feast, water would once again be drawn from the Pool and carried up to the altar amidst a wild, singing, palm waving gathering and the noisy blasts of trumpets. Now, later in this chapter, John tells us that at some point during this final ritual, Jesus cried out, “Those who are thirsty, ought to come to me and drink, for if you believe in me, know this: I AM the one out of whom rivers of living waters will flow!” 

But that is for a later sermon…what is important for us to notice here is that as far as the brothers were concerned, this would be a good time for Jesus to show himself to be someone important. At this point, it is not clear whether the brothers thought that Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah or not. In the light of John’s comment in verse 5 regarding the unbelief of Jesus’ brothers, it is highly unlikely that they believed that he was someone important despite their being witness to the miracles. So, when you read their statements to Jesus, you should perhaps hear mocking laughter mingled in the background. It is therefore doubtful that they wished to share his “stardom”.

It is interesting to note that this unbelief of the brothers continued through to the crucifixion as Jesus gave over the care of his mother, not to his brothers as would have been customary, but to his disciple John…but this unbelief seems to have been shattered by the resurrection. The triumph of Jesus over sin, death, and the devil catapulted the brothers into belief…a faith so radical that they were willing to die for it. (Acts 1:14; 12:17; 15:13; James 1:1, Jude 1)

But for the moment, the challenge remained. “If you think you are someone great, show yourself for all to see.” What a test! Weaker men would surely have fallen headlong into this trap. Vindicate yourself, Jesus! 

But and this is important, Jesus knew when God’s time was right…he spent his time with the Father in prayer every morning and every evening and no doubt throughout the day…he would know when the day of reckoning had arrived. The temptation was for him to speed things up, but Jesus chose to resist the temptation and to wait for the correct time.

Waiting may be one of the most stressful things we do as humans. We are so used to our scheduled lives that any form of delay is a source of annoyance. While Jesus might not have had all the time-consuming gadgets and gizmos we have today, he had his own very real distractions and demands…the disciples, his family, the crowds, the unbelieving leaders, the devil, and the threats against his life…these were all very real interruptions and stresses. 

But Jesus was led by the Spirit not by the nose…he submitted himself to God and waited for his timing. Remember, it was impatience that set King Saul on a collision course with Samuel and with God that ultimately cost him his kingdom. 

So, the lesson for us Spirit filled, Bible-studying and directed, prayerful believers today is simple. Don’t be deterred from spending time alone with God to determine your future actions and plans…regardless of the pressure. People like the brothers of Jesus will try to force you to fill your life with things that have no eternal value…this will make you focus on the wrong things and clutter your life with stress and anxiety and worry. Jesus taught us not to be anxious for anything but to focus on the kingdom of God and his righteousness. We will always be tempted to give in to the tyranny of the urgent. But there is a better way. 

Jesus had a vibrant and intimate relationship with the Father. As we have seen before, he spent time with the Father every evening and every morning and no doubt throughout the day. Jesus knew the Scriptures. He read them, he learned them, he inwardly digested them. He knew the will of God. Without this, he would have been left in the dark, and his timing would have been no more than pure guess work. 

If Jesus needed daily guidance, don’t you think we do too? That’s why Jesus said he would send us the Holy Spirit who would guide us in all truth. We have his Word. We have his Spirit. And we have constant access to Almighty God through prayer. Knowing the will of God demands a life set on doing that will. Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.” (John 6:38) Paul said of Jesus that “being found in appearance as a man…he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.” (Philippians 2:8) His entire life was centred on and subject to the will of the Father and as such, even that which man deems most precious, his life, became of no account. Because of his disciplined and surrendered life, Jesus knew when it was time to say no and when it was time to say yes. 

Can you faithfully and patiently wait for God’s will to be done in your life? Or are you one of the many who say, “God give me patience and give it to me right now!” Leaving your life in God’s hands is possibly the greatest step of faith you will ever have to take…but it is a necessary step if you are to make any sense of the many distractions, intrusions, and uncertainties of life. 

A soul submitted to the timing of God is a soul at peace. The next time something or someone comes crashing into your jam-packed schedule, turn aside and ask God what he would have you do. He has promised to work all things together for good…trust in that promise and you will come to understand the providential dealings of God in even the smallest things of day-to-day life.

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2023