God’s
View of Time
Psa. 90:4 Since
God is eternal (with no beginning or end
– 90:2), how does He view time?
[Since God is eternal, He is never in a
rush/hurry, yet He is always on time in accordance with His own perfect plans,
purposes, and promises (e.g., Acts 2:23; 4:27, 28; Josh. 21:45; 2 Pet. 3:9; Lk.
1:20).].
2 Pet. 3:8, 9 Because the Lord is eternal and
infinite, His view of time is different than man’s. How do some people view the Lord’s response
toward fulfilling His promised coming?
The Lord may appear
to be slow by some people’s timetable, but actually, the Lord is right on
schedule by His timetable as well as demonstrating His patience. Do you think God is slow when it comes to
getting answers to your prayers, which He has promised to grant because of a
verse in the Bible stating some promise, and why?
Gen.
39:19-21; 41:1, 25, 38-46 Though innocent, Joseph was put in jail
for more than two years while in the prime of his life. Does this seem like a waste of time/years
that could have been spent more productively by such a good person as Joseph?
Why do you think God allowed or caused this?
Gen. 37:11, 26-28; 39:1, 2 Though
innocent, Joseph was sold into slavery and to a foreign country. Does this seem like a waste of time and life
for someone as good as Joseph was?
But was it (45:1,
5, 7, 8; 50:18-20), and why?
Have
you ever wondered why God allowed or caused certain circumstances to occur in
your life that were out of your control and that you thought were a hindrance
to or waste of your time and productivity?
How
do you feel about them now that you’ve seen what God sometimes does or how He
uses circumstances and time in our lives?
Num. 14:26-34 Caleb,
Joshua, and the children of Israel who were 19 years old and younger, though
innocent, were all subjected to suffering by wandering in the wilderness for 40
years. Does this seem like a waste of
time, life, and productivity for these innocent people?
Why did God
do this to them (vss. 33, 34; Deut.
8:2-5, 16)?
Do
you see how important character traits are to God?
Have
you ever suffered because of another person’s sins and thought it was unfair of
God that you should suffer because of it?
How
do you feel now, and why?
Lk. 1:5-7, 13, 18, 20 Even though Zacharias
and Elizabeth were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in
all the commands and requirements of the Lord, they weren’t able to have any
children, yet God was in control of whether people could bear any children (Gen. 30:1, 2, 22, 23). Does it seem like a waste of time and life
before God finally gave them a child, as they were both old by the time their
son was born?
Couldn’t they have done more things with their son if
they were younger?
Why do you
think God waited so long (vss. 17, 80)?
Does living in the desert for a long time seem like a
waste of time and life (vs. 80)? Why?
Is time for preparing yourself to do the Lord’s work a
waste of time? Why (Eph.
Does it also seem
like a waste of time that such a righteous man as Zacharias should be without
speech for about a year just because he didn’t believe the angel?
Why do you think God had this
to happen for such a long period or at all (vss.
64-66)?
Have
you been faithful to God, yet He doesn’t seem to answer your prayers, and, in
fact, severely disciplined you when you slipped just one time? Why do you think He did this (Rom.
Matt. 3:1, 13;
Why (Lk.
Do
you know of any missionaries like Jim Elliott who prepared himself for years to
serve God only to get his life cut short in death?
Was all their preparation to serve God a waste of time,
and why?
Or
people who are trained in our ministry for many years and don’t start their own
independent ministry elsewhere, are they wasting their time and lives by
remaining in our ministry here, and why?
Jn. 9:1-3 Does
it seem like a waste of time for a person to be made blind from birth to
adulthood just so Jesus could heal him and thereby display the works of God?
Couldn’t this man
have been more productive to society, his family, and even to God if he could
have had sight from birth (Isa. 55:8, 9)?
(Maybe
Do you have some
handicap that makes you feel less useable and/or less productive for God,
yourself, your family, friends, or society?
Does it cause you to
question God’s wisdom or to wonder if God knows what He is doing, and why?
Lk. 2:41-50 Does it
seem like a waste of time for Joseph and Mary to have to go searching for Jesus
for three days when that could have been avoided if Jesus had told His parents
what His plans were or what He wanted to do?
Why do you
think God and/or Jesus allowed or caused this to happen?
Do you ever wonder
why God allows or causes you to use up valuable time to find something that you
thought He’d put right in front of you right away?
Could
God be using the situation to teach you patience or something else that you
wouldn’t learn any other way (
How
do you now feel about what God allows or causes to happen with your time, and
why?
Lk. 3:23 Does it seem like a waste of
time for Jesus to have waited until He was about 30 years old before He started
His ministry?
And doesn’t it seem
like a waste of life that Jesus should die so young (about 33 years old), or that His ministry should only last for
about 3 years (Jn.
But did He accomplish what He came to do (Jn. 17:4;
If
you are preparing yourself to better or more excellently serve God by being trained/discipled and develop your character
(Eph. 4:11-13),
then you’re not wasting your time or life.
Is quality important to God (1
Thes. 4:1, 10; 2 Pet. 1:5-8)?
Why (Heb. 1:4; 8:6; Ex. 15:7; 2 Pet. 1:3)?
Matt. 4:1 Jesus
was led up by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by
the devil. Does this seem like a 40-day waste of time? Why (2
Tim.
Lk. 10:38-42 Was Mary wasting her time by sitting around listening to
Jesus when she could have been helping her sister serve others, and why?
Do you think that
sitting and reading your Bible, God/Jesus’ words, is a waste of time because
you could be out working or helping other people out? Why (Eccles.
3:1)?
Acts
Even if Paul didn’t get to preach the
gospel to anyone, would his time in prison have been wasted, and why (Rom. 5:3-5;
Is
this how you view time spent in trying circumstances, as a valuable character-building
opportunity, and why?
Acts
If
the Lord ever tells or leads you to do something or go somewhere, is it ever a
waste of time, and why?
Mk. 1:35-37 Was Jesus wasting His time by praying
and then going to a new town when He could have been preaching or ministering
to an eager group of people who were looking for Him, and why (vs. 38)?
Was Jesus wasting His
time by leaving an eager group of people to go off alone to pray (
Do you think that
time spent in prayer is a waste of time when there are lots of people who need
to hear the gospel or be counseled or fed or taught the Bible? Why (Eccles. 3:1)?
1 Ki. 17:1-5; 18:1 Do
you think it was a waste of time for Elijah to hide himself from king Ahab for
over 2 years when he could have just trusted God to protect him, and why (17:2, 3)?
If God told you to
hide for years from someone who was after your life, would you see it as a
waste of time and wonder why God doesn’t just eliminate your enemy so that you
could be using your time and life more productively in the Lord’s work, and why?
Isa. 20:1-5 Does it seem like a waste of time
for the prophet Isaiah to have to go naked (i.e.,
in his underwear) and barefoot just to be a sign and token against
But
was it a waste of time from God’s viewpoint, and why (vs. 5; Heb. 11:6)?
Do you think that
some of the things God asks you in the Bible to do are a waste of time, like
giving your life to evangelism (Matt.
28:19, 20) and building up believers into Christlikeness (Eph. 4:11-13; Rom. 14:19; 1 Thes. 5:11),
and why?
Ezek. 4:1-8 Does it seem like a waste of time and
productivity for the prophet Ezekiel to be lying on his left side for 390 days
and then on his right side for 40 days just to be a sign to Israel and Judah of
bearing their sins for the number of days that they had sinned against God in
numbers of years, and why?
But
did God see it as a waste of time, and why?
When God has you
doing something you wouldn’t ordinarily choose to do on your own, do you see it
as a waste of time or as accomplishing some aspect of His perfect will, and why
(Isa. 55:8, 9)?
Jer. 7:25-28 Was it a waste of time for the prophet
Jeremiah to preach God’s word to the nation of Israel when God already told him
that the people would not listen to him, and why?
Even if most or all of the people you
witness to don’t respond to the gospel, are you wasting your time evangelizing,
and why (Matt. 28:19, 20)?
And
even if most or all of the Christians you follow-up don’t respond to your
challenge to be trained by you, are you wasting your time, and why (1 Thes.
Psa. 90:8-12 Because God gets angry at our sins,
what does the Psalmist Moses ask God to teach him and the people of
Why
does Moses want God to cause him/them to realize the shortness of life?
Is
your realization of life’s brevity causing/motivating you to live wisely (obedient to God and the Bible)?
Eph. 5:15-17 What are we to
do because the days are evil (our
society/world is morally corrupt)?
Are you wise by making the most of
your time/opportunities to do God’s will (live
a godly life, evangelize, and build up believers), and why?