Spring Forward
It is that time of year again, where the time jumps ahead, we lose an hour of sleep and our bodies are having to adjust to the time change. The morning has a late arrival but chooses to stay around a little longer into the evening. Attendance at church today was slim and we laughed it off as, “People must have forgot to set their clocks last night,” or they chose to steal their hour back.
When we lose an hour and as we learn to adjust, we may notice changes in our behavior like increased irritability and short temper. We may be late more often in the morning as we fight against our bodies’ clock of wanting to take the time back. And we may need a third or fourth cup of coffee to help with mental sharpness and an earlier crash time in the middle of the day. With so much focus on the costs of loss, I was forced to think about the gain: longer days, more time to spend in the sun with friends and family, and for me, making it home from work while the sun is still out permitting me an opportunity to jog. When we lose something, it is natural for our minds to go into survival mode and try to work around the loss, and usually with a grieving, reluctant or hardened heart that produces a narrow vision.
Within the last year, there have been some life changes I have experienced that have felt like losses to my goals and desires, with the capacity of stealing of my joy and hope. They appeared to be the complete opposite of what God promised me. Have you had that experience? Where God has promised you something (a dream, a vision, a gift) but all evidence in the reality looks to be pointing in the direction where those things are not coming to pass? Now it is testimonial that these are opportunities to trust in The Lord and lean not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6) and for us to learn the literal meaning of walking by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). But God also brought to me visual that has truly revolutionized my walk with Him while deepening my trust in His ways, plans and will. He presented to me the image of a slingshot, where in it is me, and He is pulling me further back, as a wind up so that I can go further.
While being pulled back, I have in sight struggles I have seen before that I thought I have overcome, obstacles that I thought I would not have to climb over again and old feelings that I thought I was healed from. But God isn’t bringing me back to leave me here, nor to cause me pain, but rather for me to be reminded and stand testimony of all I have overcome by His hand and to see how far I have come.
This is not about God taking something from me, this is about Him getting something to me.
I have learned that doing things on my own strength, attempting this path of my own wit and might, only gets me so far. Yeah, I may be moving forward, but it will take what feels like, forever at the cost of my joy, rest, peace, and energy. Then when I make a mistake, it feels like five steps backwards after it took so long for me to take two steps forward. But when I am in God’s slingshot, surrendered to His way of getting things done, my obedience and surrender take me farther, quicker. What may have taken me three-five years to accomplish on my own, God will accomplish in three-five months (and sometimes days, and I can stand testimony to this!).
Do you feel like you are experiencing a setback? A loss in time? Do you feel like you have been forsaken or have missed out on something that is owed to you? Widen your gaze and see what the Lord is doing! He is doing something new and preparing you for a long shot, a great distance. The views may look familiar but sweet friend, your heart and spirit are not (Ezekiel 36:26). You are not the same person you were last time you visited these roads so be bold and assured and respond accordingly. Joseph was sold into slavery after having much favor from his father, but God elevated him to save a nation. Job experienced immense loss and suffering but was fully restored in abundance. David was anointed king and spent a great deal of time in exile and fleeing for his life before that promise would come to pass. These setbacks were all setups for a people to trust in the protection of God for the sake of the fulfillment of His will. If His will is a car that I find myself restrained in and surrounded by, then my obedience is the seatbelt to help keep me secure in it. His will for you will come to pass and only through your surrender and obedience will you be able to experience it in the fullness of which He intended, taking you to the destination that He has destined for you to enter and to occupy.
I want to encourage you friend and stand testimony that your obedience will make room for you to be content during the pullback, knowing that God is preparing you to spring forward!
“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.” -Isaiah 43:19
