Philippians 3:12 – Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. (NIV)

This weekend, many of us spring ahead in time one hour as we adjust our clocks to Daylight Saving Time. And as we do so, everything will seem a bit out of sync for a day or two. My dogs will give me an extra hour of sleep for a few days until they catch up with the change. The days will seem shorter as we will not be quite ready for bed at our usual time. But all in all, everything will adjust, and in the meantime, things will go on as usual, one day at a time.

Within our Christian life, we sometimes like to spring ahead, too — ahead of God and His timing. Or, as in the autumn when the clocks go back an hour, we sometimes fall back in our quest for holiness. Both of these leaps, whether forward or backward, get us out of sync with God and His timing for our lives, at least for awhile.

Yet amid our leaps forward and back, time still marches on, always the same, rolling along like a mighty river whose tide we cannot stem. So let's not waste it by worrying and fretting and punishing ourselves when God points out to us that our timing is out of sync with His. Instead, let's just ask His forgiveness and guidance, and continue sailing along in hope and faith and trust that He will indeed get us back in sync with Himself.

As the apostle Paul wrote as an example for each of us when we leap forward or backward out of sync with God:

Philippians 3:13b-14 – Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

Prayer: Father God, help us today to press on toward the goal which You have set before us of becoming more and more like Jesus. May we choose not to waste even one moment in self-pity or anger because we are not yet made perfect and at times are out of sync with You and Your will. Rather, may our time be spent in praise and hope and faith, trusting You to bring us back into sync with Your timing and Your will, moment by moment, one day at a time. In Jesus' wonderful name, we ask. Amen.

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About the author:

Lynne Phipps <lynnephippsatlin@gmail.com>
Tawatinaw, Alberta, Canada
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