Homesick: A Study of Psalm 90Sample

Time

The idea of home is deeply rooted in time. We may travel back to a childhood home, but it’s never quite the same. I’ve driven past my grandparents’ old house, and while much of it is the same, I cannot go inside and experience “home” like I once did. (Also, I would probably be arrested for trespassing.) I’ve driven past the home where my husband and I lived when we first became parents, and I felt a prick of sadness when I realized the new owners repainted the front door. I’d taken dozens of pictures of my little ones in front of that once-yellow door. It’s a hard truth for many of us to stomach: “home” is only “home” for a time, for a season.

As people, our lives are ruled by time. No matter what we do, it ticks on. Sometimes it feels too slow; sometimes it feels too fast; sometimes we long to rewind; sometimes we long to fast-forward. But Psalm 90 expands our understanding of time—namely, Who made and controls it. God has never once been ruled by time—in fact, He rules it. This is one of many reasons why we ought to look to Him for the home that we long for.

Moses knew this well. In his first ever conversation with God—the famous burning bush scene—God told Moses His name: “I Am Who I Am.” Typically, names are nouns, but this name is more verb. It’s a name that simultaneously moves throughout time and yet stays the same. No matter what, no matter when, no matter where, we can be sure that God is “I Am Who I Am.”

God has no limits of time, and so when Moses felt the weight of a ticking clock in his life, he knew to whom He should look. Perhaps Moses understood something about God and time that we do not truly grasp.

READ: Read Psalm 90 and look for anything about time. Read 2 Peter 3:8-9 in the same way. Then, take a moment to journal about these questions:

1. Based on Psalm 90 and your own experiences, what is man’s relationship with time like?
2. Based on Psalm 90, what is God’s relationship with time like?
3. What do you think Moses understood about God and time that we do not?