Every year when May rolls around in Michigan, I want to stop the clock.
I rejoice when death is defeated by fragile sprouts that refuse to be confined
by hardened clay and brittle branches. Over a few weeks, the naked landscape
transforms into fully clothed trees adorned by bright, fragrant flowers. I
can’t get enough of the sights, sounds, and scents of springtime. I want time
to stop moving.
Also in May, I come to 1 Kings in my Bible reading schedule. When I get
to chapter 10, I have the same feeling: I want the story to stop. The nation of
Israel has bloomed. Solomon has become king and has built a magnificent
dwelling place for God, who moved in with a blaze of glory (8:11). Finally
united under a righteous king, they are at peace. I love happy endings!
But the story doesn’t end there. It continues: “But King Solomon loved
many foreign women” (11:1), and “his wives turned his heart after other gods”
(v.4).
Just as the seasons of the year continue, so do the cycles of life—birth
and death, success and failure, sin and confession. Although we have no power
to stop the clock while we’re enjoying good times, we can rest in God’s promise
that eventually all bad times will end (Rev. 21:4).
In good times and bad, God never changes. (RBC)
