Of course.
That is the foundation for the whole argument.
Interestingly enough, the "universe can not come from non-existence" claim actually refutes god creating the universe.
I mean, if it had to exist because it could come from not existing....
Our inertial material universe is based on space-time, where space and time act together, like two people in a three legged race.The concept of the light year although having a time element in the title; year, is a measure of distance based on the speed of light, with speed mathematically space-time connected as d/t. When time=0 begins in our universe, this is when space-time began. In space-time, space and time come as set, like the north and south poles of a magnet.
Theoretically, say we divided space-time into independent time and independent space, where each can act separately. This would not be the same as space-time. It would be under different restrictions; different laws of physics. If you could move in space without time, you could omnipresent. This is a classic attribute of God. This will exceed the speed of light and therefore is not a fixed part of space-time.
The question is can independent space and independent time be proven by science? The answer is yes, it was notice first in 1927 by a man named Heisenberg. The Heisenberg Uncertainty principle, state that we cannot know both the position and speed of a particle, such as a photon or electron, with perfect accuracy; the more we nail down the particle's position, the less we know about its speed and vice versa.
This uncertainty between position and speed=position/time shows that as we enter the quantum realm space and time do not act like they are fully connected or else one would imply the other; space-time. This is not exactly random; uncertainty, but rather space and time appear to be connected but as an inverse relationship. It appear distance potential and time potential are sort of interchangeable. Like a seesaw as one goes down the other goes up and vice versa. Only space-time holds the seesaw flat.
As early as the 1826 with the invention of photography, the interchangeability of independent space and time was photographed and appears as motion blur as seen below. In motion blur, the shutter speed is slower than the action speed=d/t. The difference in speed; delta speed, with time stop by the camera, still causes a sense of motion; delta speed, but without time; yo be based on uncertainty in position; small scale omnipresent effect like quantum entanglement.
To go from independent space and time to space-time, all we need to due to tether them and the limitation of space-time appear; Boom! In the drawing below the model will consolidate to one position, at a time; as space-time appears.
The most important tool of science is the human brain and it appears that the brain to be able to process time and distance potential. The easiest to see is the imagination and fictional writing. A fictional story may not based on reality, may has parallels that seem reasonable. One may not be able to prove anything as having existed, space-time, yet the imagination can drift off in that alternate universe as though space and time are not connected and that scenarios seem just as real. But it is also the source of inspiration for innovation. The innovation may not exist in space-time when it is first conceived. You got to consolidate it, to the rules of space-time, before it is tangible; conscious creation. in the image of God.