Welcome back to the Attributes RECAP! We have been making our way through Jen Wilkin’s book “None Like Him” and diving in week by week to the some of the main (incommunicable) attributes of God. If you missed the series introduction post, I announced the Attributes of God series there and explained a little bit about WHY we should care to know more about God and his nature.
So far we’ve covered the following attributes:
This week we are looking God’s ETERNAL nature.
This Week: God is Eternal
We love to say things like, “That took an eternity!” – usually in referencing to how long we had to wait in a store line or at doctor’s office. While we can really only speak hyperbolically about eternity, God has actually existed for ALL OF ETERNITY. He is the beginning and the end, the one “who is and who was and who is to come” according to scripture.
God has always existed, is here in the present, is already hanging out in the future. He is outside of time, but yet also acts within time as we know it. Does your brain hurt yet? Well, take a load off for a minute and let’s unpack this.
He is never late
God makes things happen at just the right time. And I don’t know about you, but I SO often am too distracted and busy with wanting Him to provide for me and my life on MY timeline. Honestly, I struggle with this all the time – in big ways and small. I want answers and I want them now.
I don’t know about you, but personally I just want to KNOW rather than want things to HAPPEN. Like I’m fine waiting, but I just want KNOWLEDGE. For me, knowledge calms me down, helps with my anxiety and helps me to be present in the moment. But I’m learning that sometimes, NOT knowing is BEST for me. And I’m learning to trust God in those moments.
You and I cannot see the whole span of time. We are limited, remember? But God, He can see it all and because of that He is worthy of being trusted when it comes to our plans.
We are time redeemers
“We are commanded to be time redeemers, those who reclaim our time from useless pursuits and employ it to the glory of God.” Jen derives this statement from Ephesians 5:15-16 which tells us to “make the best use of our time, because the days are evil.”
We must let go of the past and the future and live fully in the present. Hanging out in the past can leave us spending time reminiscing about what used to be or wallowing in regret. Either of those fall into the “useless pursuits” category.
We can’t change the past, but we can learn from it and live in the present TO THE GLORY OF GOD. On the flip side, if you think too far ahead into the future you’re can be overcome with anxiety or get consumed with believing that whatever the next stage of life brings will somehow bring you more fulfillment and satisfaction. God is already in the future, therefore you can live fully in the present.
When we live fully in the present, we don’t squander our time and let it slip through our hands and we don’t cram in more than we are actually capable of doing with the limited time each day holds. We redeem time when we use it wisely and well while trusting God will provide the time we need for what He has for us to accomplish.
Our days are numbered
There aren’t a lot of certainties in life, but death is one of them. Not to be Debbie Downer, but as humans we all have a beginning and an end. We don’t always live that way though. Often, we live as though we have an unlimited amount of time here on this earth, which can hinder us from really valuing the present moment. So how are you going to make an impact with the time you have here? I love when Jen says, “God is able to bring eternal results from our time-bound efforts.” What you do in this blip of time that you are here can have eternal significance. Jen makes sure to point out that the eternally significant investment on this earth is people. No material thing will be transformed by us or leave with us, but through the power of the Holy Spirit people can be transformed and live in eternity with an ETERNAL God.
Where do you struggle to use your time in a redemptive way? Do you live as if your days are numbered? What kind of eternal impact can you be making with the people around you?
Verses for Meditation
There is a section at the end of each chapter which includes verses for mediation I am going to include below that I hope you find helpful.
- Psalm 90
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
- Matthew 6:25-34
- James 4:13-16
- Revelation 1:8
Tech Background To Reflect Throughout The Week
Since we’re doing this study week by week, I thought it would be fun to add in a little extra value for those of you joining me in this study. I wanted to make these backgrounds for you to put on your phone so that you could think about, pray, and meditate on God’s self-existent nature throughout the week.
Here are 3 options. Click on the text hyperlink below this image to download the full resolution.
