Spring Forward In Faith
I know I am not alone in looking forward to longer days and daffodils! Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 14, so be sure to set your clocks ahead one hour. My husband, Mike, loves to come home after work, and there still is plenty of daylight left. Whether we sit outside or go on a boat ride, it just uplifts the spirits!
According to Google, “Benjamin Franklin said, “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” His simple observation became a proverb of life. Mr. Franklin was an inventor and refiner of sorts, always looking for solutions to life’s little problems and inconveniences. On a visit to Europe, he wrote a letter to the Parisians suggesting that by rising earlier to take advantage of sunlight, they would actually conserve candles in the process.”
Daylight Saving Time is a change that our seasons bring unless you live in Hawaii or Arizona. According to the season we are in, daylight becomes shorter or longer. The trees that spent the whole winter with bare branches begin sprouting small, white flowers. It’s truly beautiful to watch winter melt into spring. We begin to go outside and feel the warmth of the sun. While it is familiar, it is a new and exciting time! Isaiah 43:19, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Just like the seasons, in order for us to spring forward into a new season of life, we must let go of the past season. Isaiah 43:18, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past." When we see the trees budding, the flowers blooming, and feel the warmth of the sun, we are reminded that God is doing a new thing!
We have been told that this would be a cold, dark winter, and that has been true. But I am often reminded that the best fruit comes after difficult times. This is when we lean on God. This is when we call out to God. This is when we trust God. When those circumstances bring us to our knees, our faith grows! God intended for us to have different seasons of our life to help us grow in Him and to fulfill His purpose. Ecclesiastes 3:1, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…”
God is calling us to do a new thing in our lives. He wants us to let Him guide us to be who He created us to be. He has wonderful things planned for our lives. We can look forward to His great love changing us. The Lord has started a good work in you, and He will complete it. Jeremiah 29:11, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” We must keep moving forward to accomplish God’s purpose for us. I like how Billy Graham said, “We can never live this life on the highest plane unless we are continually growing and moving forward. You should be closer to God today in heart, soul, and body than at any other time so far in your life.”
Remember to set your clocks forward one hour Saturday night so you won’t be late for church!