Wait A Minute

Minute by minute...

Wait a minute, or two, or three...

"From the winter solstice, until the summer solstice, the amount of daylight increases about 2 minutes per day, less at the beginning and the end. And from summer solstice to winter solstice, the amount of daylight decreases about 2 minutes per day, less at the beginning and the end.

This gain will be minuscule at first, just a matter of seconds a day, but will steadily grow until daily daylight expands by three daily minutes per day in March. The exact amount of brightness-gain depends on your location."

If you are like me, you really appreciate sunrise, sunset. March is invigorating and kind of crazy too. The other day the sky between my house and the neighbours, lit in a quick blaze of purple and yellow, so brief that my son and I were in shock and awe at the flash of brilliance. What was that, we wondered? The rain and snow mixed with lighting was terrifying and delightful at the very same time. I think my life is like that sometimes, dear reader, with unexpected twists and turns that shock and jolt me into feeling, really living, with frightened expectations of beyond imagination outcomes. I like the future, the one that God promises when we abide in Him:

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one might edify another (Romans 14:17-19)

When I read this passage back in January of this new year, my soul lit up in a lightning flash of understanding. In a brief moment of time, I could see God's heart bursting forth in brilliant light, and I wanted desperately, painfully, to live this scripture.

Dear reader, I want to live righteously, in peace, with joy, serving Christ so that I am acceptable to God, approved by godly men. I want to follow after Jesus and edify others: Now THAT is a mission statement. 

The light and darkness, the doom and gloom, they compliment one another. As the days gain sunlight I am reminded that God has a schedule that we can depend upon, to the point of man creating things like daylight savings time, with our clocks falling backward as we approach winter, and springing ahead as croci prepare to bravely break soil surfaces to smile at us in the remaining chill. My dog doesn't understand daylight savings time: his eating schedule, dictated by his belly, has remained the same! Only man attempts to manipulate and control what God preordained and destined... which brings me to my point. 

God preordained, predestined. Isn't that frighteningly marvellous? Is this not thrilling and mind boggling too? I actually love lightning, but you can be sure that when I see it, I start praying for protection from the Hand that sends it shooting in the sky nearby. The Bible says God is light, and if you look up scripture pertaining to this, you will discover many a verse. I choose this one to represent how I am feeling about the lightning flashes of brilliance:

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, 

and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: 

and they were sore afraid (Luke 2:9)

Imagine the brightness causing great fear! March, when it comes in like a lion, can be terrifying... and we are promised from experience, that if it enters roaring, it will exit bleating like a lamb. 

The lion, the lamb, March, The Lord... Perhaps I am having great fun creating associations and connections, but dear reader, I cannot help myself! The joy I feel in knowing that God is ever present, has a plan, and can be counted on to be consistent, makes my heart sing and all but burst wide open! The weather is our reminder, that come rain, shine, darkness followed by light, He orders the universe and chooses the when and wherefore for everything and everyone. 

When we wait a minute, or two, or three, a light switch may come on in our brains, illuming the darkness that wants to settle in and reside there. The darkness is never of God, dear one... He cannot, simply is not, capable of it:

And his brightness was as the light, 

he had horns coming out of his hand:

 and there was the hiding of his power (Habakkuk 3:4)

Brightness

Horns

Power

The beauty of scripture is in the range. To paint God with a bristle broken brush, making Him into an impotent being without strength, purpose and power, dangerously underestimates Who He is. The weather, the timing of brightness and darkness in our lives, are out of our reach and control. Hopefully this instills some humility and causes us to be "sore afraid" as teeny tiny humans, that rely on the Sovereign to give us our next breath, our next spring, summer, fall and winter. 

I am, sore afraid, followed closely with awe and reverence for the King of kings, Lord of lords. He is the lion and the lamb, dear reader, and I aim to glorify Him, and edify man. 

What about you? 

Are you sore afraid?

Do you aim to glorify Him, and edify your fellow man?

Roar, bah... 

How wonderful, to be able to choose. And how terrifying too, to be able to choose...

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof (Revelation 5:5)