Begin with two minutes of silence and stillness before God.
At the end of Chapter 13, Paul sends out an urgent message. He says in Verse 11, “...salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.”
I love competitive sports. The sport I fell in love with the most was football. All of the things I did wrong and the actions stemming from frustrations in all other sports were acceptable in football. A hard foul in youth basketball is called a tackle in football. In baseball, a frustrating strikeout at the plate followed by an impromptu charging of the mound is also called a tackle in football. So many things I did wrong in other sports were all called tackles in the sport of football. If you were frustrated with a previous play, the sport of football had a built-in therapeutic outlet in the form of a tackle. In football, there are four quarters. At the start of the fourth quarter, our team would hold up four fingers in the air as to say, "Four - We have one last quarter to finish what we started.”
In Chapter 13, I see Paul holding up these same four fingers. In verse 12, he says, “The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” The period of long suffering and man’s depravity is represented in this darkness. The day represents Christ’s return and reign. Now, you may be thinking, “This is the longest night I think I have ever witnessed.” 2 Peter 3:8 says, “Do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.” Paul goes on to spur us in verse 13 to “behave properly as in the day.” We should live our lives for the Lord and make no provisions for our flesh. It’s through this lens that we should live our day-to-day. The mistakes you made in the first three quarters are over and done with. You can’t go back and change them. You only have the fourth quarter to lay it all on the line, leave it all on the field, and win the game.
Fortunately for us, our game is won. It’s because of this truth, however, that we play the fourth quarter as a winning team. Winning teams are defined by determination, discipline, and dedication. Let us be determined to make His name known. Let us be disciplined in His Word in our lives. Finally, let us dedicate our lives to the leader of our team, in whom we put all of our hope and trust. Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.”
Take two minutes to reflect in silence.