We have this interesting time debate here at the Bible School in Chiapas, Mexico. The government has instituted Day Light Savings Time and the school runs on that hour. The pastors who are attending the school for these two weeks, however, say that that is messing with God’s time and so they insist on sticking to “normal” or God’s time. That means that my companion teacher, Carl, and I follow a schedule based on “normal” time while the work crew that is part of our group works on Day Light Savings time. Since the workers want to get an early start before it gets too hot, we get up at 5 a.m. “normal” time and don’t begin to teach before 8 a.m. The good news is that we have learned to go to bed by about 9 p.m. so I am getting about 8 hourse sleep. When was the last time we got 8 hours a night?
It does raise an interesting question for all pastors. Leaving aside the debate about Day Light Savings Time, ask yourself what is God’s Time? How does God measure and order the time in your life? How often does the immediate demands of the world interrupt our response to God’s time. What do we need to do to become more alert to God’s Time in our responsiveness to what is happening around us?
If, for God, ” one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like one day.” (2 Peter 3:8) then is it possible that we get into too much of a hurry to pay attention to the whispers of God around us. Maybe some way of paying attention to the Sabbath principle is critical for our staying in touch with God’s time in our lives.
Might that ease our sense of stress and impatience occasionally. I was struck with an incident in the wandering in the wilderness passages in Numbers. When Israel first approached the Jordan and prepared to enter the Promised Land, only Caleb and Joshua had the courage to go in. So the whole people had to turn back and wander for another 40 years before coming again to the Jordan. How many pastors have to patiently wander with their congregation for many years before the people have the courage to move forward according to God’s call. It takes real patience to be a pastor.
I must say that time looks different here in Mexico. Not better, just enough different to make me pause and reflect.
