Weekend Words

 From A Lamp Unto My Feet...

Time for God

It is a good and necessary thing to set aside time for God in each day.  The busier the day, the more indispensable is this quiet period for prayer, Bible reading and silent listening.  It often happens, however, that I find my mind so full of earthly matters that it seems I have gotten up early in vain and have wasted three-fourths of the time so dearly bought. (I do love my sleep!)  But I have come to believe that the act of will required to arrange time for God may be an offering to Him.  As such He accepts it, and what would otherwise be loss to me, I count it gain for Christ (see Philippians 3:8).  Let us not be "weary in well doing" (Galatians 6:9, KJV), or discouraged in the pursuit of holiness.  Let us, like Moses, go to the rock of Horeb, where God says to us what He said to him: "You will find me waiting for you there" (Exodus 17:6).

From Oasis of Hope...

Seeing God in the Seasons

"He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others.  He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning." - Daniel 2:21 ESV

Many seasons transpire in our lives.  The most noticeable are spring, summer, fall, and winter.  Then comes the more societal ones like football, baseball, and hockey.  There are seasons of celebration such as Easter and Christmas.  These periods come and go with regularity, and we are fairly adept at both preparing and participating in them all.

But other seasons may catch us by surprise.  These include periods of labor and rest or joy and sorrow.  And we mustn't leave out seasons of calm and of storms.  Our best example of how seasons come and go is often seen in watching children as they make the journey to adulthood.  They start out crawling, then walk, start school, and, often quicker than we see coming, they graduate college and go on to make their own lives.  They remain a constant reminder that nothing stays the same.

An all-wise God establishes every season with a purpose.  They provide what He has decided is needed at a particular time.  The presence of one season is often preparation for the next.  Just as our children cannot remain toddlers, we cannot stay in the summers of our lives forever, nor do we want to live in eternal winter.

Some seasons go quickly while others seem to hang on forever.  Perhaps it would be wise for us to stop questioning why our seasons exist and, instead, focus on seeing God at work in them.  Wouldn't it be better to relish whatever good we can find within a season, rather than focus on its length?  After all, a time will come when we will all enter the final, endless season with Jesus.  At that point, we will likely no longer care about life as we knew it.

Are you waiting for one thing to end so another can begin?  Ask God to help you see how He is at work in your current season.

- Melanie Stiles