Time is beyond our influence

If you are reading this before you needed to be anywhere today, just a reminder: You've lost an hour between yesterday and today. Not to worry; the loss in is your favor. Though the hour gained from daylights saving time's ending seems to be lost by having to reset all of my clocks.

The rationale behind daylights saving time is fairly simple -- people prefer to have more daylight hours than not. Proponents praise the benefits. Opponents site extra fuel and energy consumption. Either way, both sides share the same desire of having an effective and fulfilling way to get the things done that they want to get done. The New Testament book of James has some similar writings.

"Look here, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.' How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog -- it's here a little while, then it's gone."

Here is someone who wants to go off to the city, chase their dreams, make some money and create the future that they have always fantasized about. Blindly optimistic that tomorrow is in their hands, and time, like pocket change, is at their disposal.

James reminds us that when we dream, when we plan and even we chase those aspirations there are so many things beyond our influence. We no more than control the events of the day or the length of our life any more than when the sun rises and sets.

Not to perpetuate a do-nothing culture, James continues in the next verse; What you ought to say is, "If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that."

In other words, we are going to set out and try to accomplish this, try to succeed in this business, and try to travel to this region. If the Lord wants us to achieve our ambitions, we will.

The favor He bestows up on His children far outweighs plans crafted in their hearts.

We may never be able to dictate the appearances of the sun, but we can trust in the One who dictated the sun to appear.

As far as the clock goes, it's time to buy some that reset themselves.

Robert Hurtgen is a husband, father, minister and writer. Read more of him at robhurtgen.wordpress.com.