God Is Eternal
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Psalm 90:2)
When God first spoke, light pierced the darkness of eternity, and time came into existence. Time is but the succession of moments - the forward movement of created things along the timeline of redemptive history. We speak in terms yesterday, today, and tomorrow; we plan with beginning, middle, and end in mind. We have no concept of anything different. However, God is different. God is eternal – Father, Son, and Spirit (John 1:1-2; Heb. 9:14).
What does this mean? God exists outside of time, unbound and unfettered from the constraints of day and night, summer and winter, seedtime and harvest. Time can no more bind God than man can drag Him from heaven. Therefore, God does not change from one moment to the next. Instead, God fills all moments; God is fully present all the time. Every day is “today” for God. Isn’t that amazing? Have you ever been too worried about something you didn’t do yesterday to be fully present today? Have you been too anxious about tomorrow to accomplish anything today? Not so with God! G.K Chesterton said (and I paraphrase) that the youthfulness of children giggles with glee when we tell the same joke over and over. However, when we grow old, we lose our sense of wonder, but not so with God. Maybe, just maybe, God paints every daisy the same, not because God is boring, but because God is forever young, because God is eternal.
As God is unrestrained by time, so are His purposes. Over and over, Scripture says, “God saved us and called us to a holy calling...which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.” (2 Tim. 1:9) “He chose us before the foundation of world.” (Eph. 1:4) The work God plans for us, God decrees from before time ever began, and time will not hinder their accomplishment. God’s eternal purposes are so sure that Paul can look to heaven and say, “He has glorified you.” (Rom. 8:29) Paul can speak of future glory in the past tense because it is as good as done. Years may separate us from the enjoyment of glory, but time cannot restrain the fulfillment of the eternal God’s purposes.
There is a wonder that should captivate the heart of us all. When our schedules are pressed, we are less present. Not so with God. He is fully present in every moment, and His promises will not fail for a lack of time. We may not know what tomorrow holds, but God is already there. “Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” (Ps. 121:4) He is ever-present with us. The promises of men may fail, but God’s eternal promises forever hold. As Isaac Watts sang, “Give to the Lord of lords renown; the King of kings with glory crown: his mercies ever shall endure, when lords and kings are known no more.” Let us take refuge this week on the everlasting arms!
