Back in the late 1960's, there was a folk music group called the Pozo Seco Singers. They started out in Corpus Christi, Texas, and their first hit song was called "Time". They later signed with Capital Records, made three albums, and then disappeared from the scene. One of the members later gained fame in the country music field and you know him as Don Williams. The last line of the chorus was, "Time, oh good, good time, where have you gone?" If you would like to hear it, both the song and the group are out on YouTube. That song was later recorded by other artists, but never made it to the million seller list.
Is that theme, though, not one we have all mentioned or moaned at one time or another? Then there is the good old saying about not having enough time to do it right the first time, but having time to make the corrections. Time is either our friend or enemy, depending on how we are captured in it at the moment. It is ours to use or to waste. The catch, of course, is that it never comes around again. There are no instant replays or do-overs in the real thing.
Most of us who are adults do our eight hours a day, or more, at work. Then we parcel out time with spouses, kids, friends, that hobby or other entertainment. Sometimes we even remember to take a few minutes for ourselves. How about God in that mix? Does he get priority or just the leftovers?
When we were growing up, most of us had family rituals we went through. There was grace before meals, bedtime prayers, maybe family prayer time. Now, in this rush-rush world, we tend to drop some of those. Do you still pray before meals? I see people taking that few seconds in restaurants and cafeterias sometimes. Do you tell God "Good morning" when you first open your eyes and ask him for his blessings on your day? When day is over and you finally stretch out on that mattress, do you thank him whatever you experienced that day?
Those are all small snippets of time, just a few minutes or even seconds. How about the longer view? How about the times we want to do something or want something in our lives and it just seems to take forever? We know God is all-powerful and he answers our requests. So, why doesn't he just give us what we want when we ask for it? Again an answer we have all heard before: because he knows we aren't ready for what we ask. Sometimes he knows that what we want is not in our best interest. Have you not asked for something, didn't get it, assumed God didn't hear you or was ignoring you, and did it or got it anyway? Blew up in your face, didn't it?
In this high-speed world, we want what we want and want it now. Instant gratification is the order of the day. Waiting is no longer the virtue it once was. So, we expect the same from God just for the asking. God hasn't changed and he isn't up on the modern ways. He still does things in his time, not ours. He does it, not in our time, but in God's Good Time.
P.S. How much of God's time did you give back to him today?
