Win the Day
"A body at rest will stay at rest until a net external force acts upon it, and a body in motion will remain in motion at a constant velocity until acted on by a net external force." – Newton's first law of motion.
Ok, I know it's summer, and the last thing most of us want to do is think about physics. Especially those of us who are on summer break! But this has been on my mind for the past couple of weeks, and I hope you will be willing to indulge me for a moment.
Why?!
Because I think this statement aptly describes how most of us live our lives, especially in our culture of excess. We have our rhythms and routines, our processes, and, if we are honest, rarely will we deviate unless we are forced to, or the potential payoff far exceeds current reality.
Take COVID, for example. In the BC (before COVID) days, our schools, businesses, churches, and systems all operated with a certainty we relied on and were comfortable with. However, once the pandemic hit, everything changed. Life as we knew it was completely disrupted. And then we adapted. We created new rhythms and routines, and we got comfortable. We still longed for what was but eventually settled into what is. And it didn't take long.
Fast forward to today. The vaccines are readily available, restrictions have loosened, and the pandemic is winding down. One would think we would all be jumping at the chance to embrace a pandemic-free future and “get back to life as we knew it.” But, in many ways, we aren't. We got used to the changes and created new rhythms and routines we don't want to give up or are afraid to let go of. Now, I know I am making broad, sweeping statements, and I know there are always exceptions to the rule. I also know that most of us would stay the same if given a choice because change is hard.
The question I have is this: Is this how we were meant to live?!
Do we exist to create comfortable rhythms and routines and then settle, only change when chaos hits?!
Is our life solely meant to be reactive?!
What if we were meant to be so much more?
What if we were created to be proactive?
To be the ones who were defined by change…
Who valued growth over comfort?
Who were committed to doing whatever was needed to be the best version of ourselves and help others do the same?
I don’t think it’s an accident that Jesus, when speaking to Nicodemus (a 1st-century Jewish leader/influencer), said the following about God’s people: “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
I think it is also interesting that God always calls people out of their comfort zones to a bigger and greater reality than they could even imagine.
What if God were calling us to do the same?
What if we believed the Apostle Paul when he said, "we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” And took Jesus seriously when He told His disciples during His final days before being crucified, “whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these.”
How would we live?
Over the summer, our small groups have the opportunity to ask and answer this question as they go through a study based on the book, Win the Day written by Mark Batterson, the Pastor of National Community Church in the Washington, D.C. area. It is a good and challenging opportunity designed to reorient us on God, on our calling, and help us "win the day" as we lean into these.
To be a part of this or for more information, please contact Pastor Trevor at TOwen@hillspringtc.org or contact the church office.
As we step deeper into the summer season and emerge from the pandemic that has helped to define us over the past sixteen-ish months, my hope and prayer is that we would be courageous, that we would risk and “win the day” by pursuing God’s call instead of comfort and the status quo!
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Justin