In previous blog post “Why The Prodigals Will Return” I made reference to “Bible Time.” Here’s an excerpt from How God Makes Men that explains the advantages of thinking in Bible Time rather than “Earth Time”…

God has an altogether different way of looking at time than we do. As Peter said, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Peter 3:8). In “earth time” Jesus died two thousand years ago. But in Bible Time it was only the day before yesterday.

Bible Time is elastic. At our Bible study I asked a couple of men to measure the length of a bungee cord. It was two feet. Then I asked them to stretch it as far as they could and re-measure. This time it was five feet. So which was it: two feet or five feet? It was both. What may seem like an eternity to us can be like the blink of an eye to God.

Though Abraham no doubt felt as if twenty-five years was a long time, it wasn’t much in Bible Time. From the time God promised a new country to Abraham, it took nearly 500 earth years for that promise to be fulfilled—430 years of slavery in Egypt and 40 years through the wilderness. But in Bible Time, God fulfilled His promise by noon!

Suppose you and I meet for breakfast at 7:30 a.m. I ask you, “What do you want more than anything else in the world that is righteous, pure, noble, and honors God?” Let’s say you share your dream and calling to become a godly man, husband, and father.

Now imagine I hold the power to make that happen. Suppose I say, “I love and care about you so much that I promise to make your dream come true.” If I could give you the thing you want most in life, would you be willing to wait until noon? How about for an hour? How about ten minutes? In Bible Time, ten minutes could be ten years.

Thinking in Bible Time will give you an eternal perspective and help you manage expectations. Also, when you think in Bible Time, verses like this one make more sense: “We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:16–17).

Bible Time has many practical applications. I meet men all the time who are so impatient for change that they are making huge decisions—to close a business, to cut off a child, to divorce a wife, to bail out on a home mortgage—because they are impatient. They are not willing to wait on God. They don’t have a concept of Bible Time.

How about you? Whatever God has called you to start, pull an Abraham. Reset your clock and don’t give up. God is testing you. He might test you for decades. Will you trust God to do what seems impossible? Whatever is not happening that you believed God was going to do, here’s my advice: Give it a few more years. Give God a chance to bring glory to Himself by fulfilling your longing.

Once you embrace Bible Time as the norm, it takes off a lot of pressure. It’s the kingdom perspective on time that will not only help keep your faith intact but help release the power of God in every direction and detail of your life.

Until every church disciples every man…

Pat

In 1986, Patrick Morley launched a small Bible study in a bar that grew into Man in the Mirror, a global ministry reaching millions Iof men and thousands of churches. His book The Man in the Mirror became one of the 20th century’s most influential. A leading voice on men’s discipleship, he’s authored 22 books and 750+ articles, with global translations. Patrick holds degrees from UCF, Harvard, Oxford, and Reformed Theological Seminary. He and his wife live in Winter Park, Florida. Learn more at the Patrick Morley website. 

Image Created by CoPilot

Great Christmas Presents by Patrick Morley: