Isaiah 46:9-10 “Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please’.”

Have you ever stopped to consider how captive humans are to time? Each of us enters the world at a specific moment and leaves in the same way. Throughout the years, every person born will move through a succession of moments that will tick off every day of her life on earth.

This is the reality for all humans. We only have so many days to accomplish our plans. But there is only One Who is not bound by time. He makes known the end from the beginning, and His purposes will stand throughout eternity. It is He Who formed each of us in our mother’s womb and determined all the days of our lives. Yet we still scurry around trying to beat the clock and make our mark on the world.

This human obsession with time was tangibly demonstrated to me recently. Our auction company held a sale featuring a large collection of clocks. As I perused the different timepieces for sale, I was struck by how many were quite old, testifying to the fact that, since the beginning of civilization, humans have been enslaved by time.

Yet, despite all our attention to time, we are powerless to control our situation or determine our final destiny. We will forever be limited by the ticking of the clock.

There is only One Who stands outside time: the eternal God. Time does not limit or change Him. He is the One Who eternally exists with no beginning or end. To Him a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day (2 Peter 3:8). Nothing can thwart His plans – not even time – because He stands outside time.

I find this truth incredibly comforting in a world where each of us is bound by a succession of moments between birth and death. We can’t hold back the days, and none of us knows the moment when we will draw our last breath.

Most of the previous owners of the antique clocks we sold the other day have also passed away. They drew their last breath while their clocks continued ticking. No matter how hard they worked, they left things undone. That is because they, like us, were enslaved to time.

But thankfully, our times are in God’s hands. He knows the end from the beginning, and His purposes will always stand. So, if you find yourself burdened by the constraints of time, remember who holds your future. He is in control. Worship Him.