A WORD FOR TODAY, May 12, 2025
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, May 12, 2025
“How lovely are your dwellings, Yahweh of Armies! My soul longs, and even faints for the courts of Yahweh. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Yes, the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young, near your altars, Yahweh of Armies, my King, and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house. They are always praising you. Selah. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on a pilgrimage. Passing through the valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs. Yes, the autumn rain covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength. Every one of them appears before God in Zion. Yahweh, God of Armies, hear my prayer. Listen, God of Jacob. Selah. Behold, God our shield, look at the face of your anointed. For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For Yahweh God is a sun and a shield. Yahweh will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly. Yahweh of Armies, blessed is the man who trusts in you.” Psalm 84
There’s a song by the musical group Chicago about time. “As I was walking down the street one day; A man came up to me and asked me what; The time was that was on my watch, yeah...And I said; Does anybody really know what time it is; Does anybody really care; If so I can't imagine why; We've all got time enough to cry; And I was walking down the street one day; A pretty lady looked at me; And said her diamond watch had stopped cold dead...And I said; Does anybody really know what time it is; Does anybody really care; If so I can't imagine why; We've all got time enough to cry; And I was walking down the street one day; Being pushed and shoved by people trying to; Beat the clock, oh, no I just don't know; I don't know, and I said, yes I said; People runnin' everywhere; Don't know where to go; Don't know where I am; Can't see past the next step; Don't have time to think past the last mile; Have no time to look around; Just run around, run around and think why; Does anybody really know what time it is; Does anybody really care; If so I can't imagine why; We've all got time enough to die; Everybody's working; I don't care; About time I don't care.”
Why do we worry about time? For most of us, we have to be in contact with a clock because others are expecting us at specific times. We have appointments. We have to shop while the stores are open. We have to pay attention to calendars. But the question in the song asks, “Does anyone really know what time it is?” Do we? There are scientific clocks that tell the precise time according to the sun and moon and the earth. There is, in human terms, a way to measure time. Time is a human construct based on the creation of God, but I have to wonder, does God measure time? We know that for God a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day. Does God care about the hands of a clock?
I rarely care about time, unless I have something I need to do. A few years ago, I was staying in a hotel room and was able to sleep in, but I did have to get to breakfast before 9:00 am. I didn’t bother to set the alarm relying on the bedside clock to tell me the time. I realized that the clock was thirty minutes off. I have noticed in years since that hotel clocks are rarely set to the proper time. Like most of us, I now rely on my cell phone when I’m traveling because I know the time is correct. I hadn’t even looked at the clock before I went to bed, which just goes to show you how often we do not even really know what time it is.
I like what it says in today’s passage. The psalmist writes, “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” What matters is not time, but what we do with it. Are we accomplishing something wonderful for the glory of God or are we wasting our hours away doing something that meets only our own lusts and needs? We may not really know what time it is, but if we spend our minutes, hours, and days focused on the Lord, we’ll find that it doesn’t matter. We may have to follow a clock or a calendar for the sake of others, but let’s not worry about the minutes of our time because we’ll enjoy eternity where we will spend every moment with our Lord.
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