Last week I talked about reconciling the apparent scientific evidence we have of an earth that appears to be billions of years old with the 6,000-10,000-year estimate we derive from the Bible’s account.
This week, let’s talk a little about the process of creation itself.
For now, let’s assume the biblical account of creation is accurate. That is, God made the entire universe, including the earth and everything in it, in seven days. (As an aside, note that even though the work was completed in six days, God considered resting and recharging so important that He set the example of including it as part of the timeline. That’s not my main point, but it’s important, too!)
Why would God take seven whole days? If He’s infinitely powerful, why didn’t He just make it all instantly? He had the option of waving His arms across the emptiness and bringing everything into existence, yet He deliberately chose to break up the stages of Earth’s creation into distinct phases. Why?
I believe He did it as a way of illustrating to us, His followers, that His way of doing things usually occurs through using processes. Everything God does is a process. God could snap His fingers and affect major change instantaneously, but doing so foregoes the opportunity to make the journey.
In addition to a seven-day-long creation, here are some other examples of God taking longer than we might expect:
- Leading the Israelites along the scenic route through the wilderness to get to the promised land (even before He announced they’d wander until the older generation perished)
- Prophesying about the coming Messiah for hundreds of years before He showed up
- Saying that He’s coming back for us “soon.” Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. Revelation 22:12
What are we to learn from this?
Well it seems to me that God’s telling us: “don’t be in a hurry to get to the next thing; live in the moment, because that’s where I’ve placed you. You may have noble intentions of things you want to do in the future, but don’t forget about living for me in the present. I’m giving you opportunities to be faithful in small things over time, and if you do well, I’ll give you opportunities to be faithful in bigger things.”
Living life at God’s pace instead of our own builds and hones our character. Remember that He knows exactly what choices we’ll make and what kind of person we’ll be in the future. Part of the sometimes glacial movement of God’s work in our lives is for our benefit, not God’s. As you accomplish tasks God sets before you, it grows your faith and deepens your trust in Him. As that trust grows, you become more willing to take bigger leaps of faith on His behalf…leaps that you would not have been willing to take if God had simply snapped His fingers and brought you to the level He wanted you to be after the long, hard journey. Skipping the journey means missing part of the experience that makes you…you.
If you’re going through an especially difficult time right now, just remember: God knows where He wants you to end up, but the route you would’ve chosen wasn’t going to get you there in the manner He wanted. It’s easy to think of surprises and unforeseen pivots as “detours.” The reality is that this was always the charted course, but sometime in the past we tried going in a different direction than God chose.
There aren’t too many people that would plan their lives according to the way God does. That feared diagnosis, that pink slip, that broken relationship. Though it’s painful, please remember that all the difficult struggles in your life are part of the process God is using to shape you who He wants you to become.
Lord, sometimes there are no words to describe the feelings we have when life doesn’t go the way we expected. Please help us to have patience, to live in the here and now, and to see how to align our wills more closely with yours. Amen.