God is Eternal

by Nicole Cifuentes

Deuteronomy 33:27

The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.’ God is beyond time

“In the beginning...”

Time is a confusing subject for us humans. From the very beginning we have been tracking time in whatever ways we can. From sundials, water clocks, and pendulums to ancient mammoth bones with markings tracking the phases of the moon to count days gone by, we have been using the world around us to create our concept of time.. Sosigenes of Alexandria, a famed astronomer, was enlisted not just by one ruler, but three over the span of years to create a working calendar to track seasons and months based on the patterns he noted in the skies. We have always been a people who are obsessed with time.

However, God is not only the creator of “time”, but He is outside of time. In Deuteronomy 33:27 he is called the “Quedem” God- ancient, eternal, long ago, everlasting, forever. God is also called “El Olam” meaning everlasting, forever, from old, ancient.

Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever you had formed with earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting (olam),

you are God.

- Psalm 90:2

God was there before the beginning of our world. He breathed together the existence of time. We use stars, the moon, and the rotation of the earth, which he literally created to track our concept of time. He set our world into motion literally spinning the earth at an exact speed to provide a hospitable environment. Our very own concept of time doesn’t even work across the entire galaxy. One Earth Day does not look the same on other planets in our solar system. It takes earth 24 hours to rotate creating one day. It takes Jupiter only 11 hours, Mars 25 hours, and Venus a whooping 5,832 hours (about 8 months) to complete a full rotation! God is beyond time.

On a side note: God is beyond time. That means the person you forgot to pray for her surgery yesterday, YOU CAN STILL PRAY FOR! He is outside of it all. He hears prayers for the past, the present and the future. How amazing!

Time itself has led to countless science fiction ideas of time travel, timelines, and alternative universes. While you can lose yourself in the fantasies and rabbit trails of time itself- one thing we can stand on: God is not defined by time.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. -Revelation 22:13

This is a GOOD thing! It brings hope! God was there before the first word was spoken. He is there when all is laid back to dust. He is not bothered by a single second or a thousand years. He is not hindered by age, decay, or death.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. -Isaiah 40:8

You can Trust in him because of his Olam

Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting (Olam) God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable.

- Isaiah 40:28

This amazing truth that God is not held back by earthly time should bring us hope. God will never be betrayed by an ageing body. He will never worry about not getting a job done “on time” and He will never be tied down by a deadline.

In my personal life, time has always felt like an enemy. Growing up I used to joke that I would only live until I was 30. I would comment that I had this small feeling that I was not going to live beyond my 29th year. In truth, I couldn’t picture my life past 30! I expected at that point I would have been well into my life’s calling (either a dolphin/ animal trainer or working somehow in ministry), have met the love of my life, and have traveled the entire world! I would joke that I would make my 30th birthday a magnificent party to celebrate the fact that I had lived longer than I ever expected. Oh, how God can joke.

My 30th birthday was April 25, 2020. Yep- you know exactly what year I am talking about.

I guess in one way my world did “end”. Everyone knows how life was thrown upside down in the year 2020. That BIG celebration I had been Pinning inspirational plans for was burned in a fire of fear, quarantines, and social distancing. While we made it through those tough months thriving better than others did, it put into perspective the plans we might have for ourselves and God’s ability to see outside of them. Thank goodness God does not grow weary and his understanding is beyond our immediate circumstances. If I had relied on my own internal views of time- I would have fallen into an angry cycle of depression that year. It was supposed to be a renewal year! My year to celebrate! While the world was falling apart around me, I was able to stand on the eternal God who could see the end of the quarantine, the end of the chaos, and who gently encouraged my soul to not faint or worry, he would carry me through.

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting (Olam) rock.

- Isaiah 26:4

God can be trusted and we can stand firm on him. While friends move away, loved ones pass, careers change, and children grow up and move away- the one thing remains: El Olam.

He desires for us to enjoy eternity with him Even more than being a stable foundation through our time on earth- God invites us into his eternity.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16

This word eternal in Greek is aiōnios (without beginning and end, never to cease). God’s love is so great he created his plan to bring us out time itself and into eternity. This is beyond our earthly intellect but is amazing in foundation. To live where you don’t feel the pressure of time is freedom. To have a never-ending day where you can complete whatever tasks are before you because your body does not get hungry or tired is mind blowing. But God dives a little deeper into the depth of the goodness of eternity:

And this is eternal (aionios) life,

that they know you, the only true God,

and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

-John 17:3

The greatest part about joining God in eternity is spending it with the one who is called wonderful counselor, prince of peace, and love. To spend forever in the air of all things Holy- now that’s an amazing eternity!

Closing:

Eternity is not just “extended time” but rather is existence above and apart from time. God invites us to dwell in his eternal security. He wants us to be with him today, tomorrow, and literally forever. He is the beautiful hope we need a difficult world. He is a safe place in this expanse of reality.

Without the knowledge of his eternity, we would not understand the importance of accepting his invitation for our after death. We would not understand the depth of love he has for us to seek us out in our time and to fix our sins so that we can be back where we originally should be: with him.

Prayer:

Dear Olam-

While I can not fathom eternity, I am grateful for the chance to join you in it. I accept your eternalness and ask you to help me see your timing in all thing. I pray for your intervening hand into my future. God continue to teach me that you will never fail me. You are the one constant I can lean on in an earth that constantly changes. You are the alpha and Omega.

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Hey sweet lady, we want to take a quick minute to guide your next steps with the scripture and application portion. We believe that in order to truly grow closer to God, we need to spend time dwelling on what he’s trying to teach us and not rush through it. We encourage you to spend a full week dwelling on this devotional and all it has to offer you. That means you can save some of the scripture passages for another day or re-read them in the week. We also encourage you to take your time with the application portion. You can sit in each prompt until you feel God revealing his truths to you. Don’t rush, take time to truly get to know him better by sitting in what he’s trying to teach you this week. That's where your faith will grow. Scripture for Deeper Study:

• Colossians 1:15-20

• John 17:1-5

• Isaiah 57:14-21

Application:

• Journal how thoughts of God’s eternal nature make you feel.

• Dwell on the fact that we get to spend eternity with God in heaven. What do you want to talk to God about? What questions do you have? Write them down.

• How does the knowledge that God is not in time but above it effect your relationship with him?

• Journal about events from your past. Can you trace the ways God used these events to bring you to where you are today? What might have been different if you made different choices? Now seek God’s dwelling place to accept your today and invite him to create your future.