Michael Hodgin tells the story of a man who prided himself on being exceedingly punctual. He followed a very precise routine every morning. His alarm went off at 6:30 a.m. He rose briskly, shaved, showered, ate his breakfast, brushed his teeth, picked up his briefcase, got into his car, rode the ferry across to the downtown business area, got off the ferry, walked smartly to his building, marched to the elevator, rode to the seventeenth floor, hung up his coat, opened his briefcase, spread his papers out on his desk, and sat down in his chair at precisely 8:00 a.m. Not 8:01, not even 7:59. Always at 8:00 a.m.
He followed this same routine without variation for eight years, until one morning his alarm did not go off, and he overslept fifteen minutes. When he did awake, he was panic-stricken. He rushed through his shower, nicked himself when he shaved, gulped down his breakfast, only half-way brushed his teeth, grabbed up his briefcase, jumped into his car, sped to the ferry landing, jumped out of his car, and looked for the ferry. There it was, out in the water a few feet from the dock. He said to himself, "I think I can make it." and he ran down the dock towards the ferry at full speed. Reaching the edge of the pier he gave an enormous leap out over the water and miraculously landed with a loud thud on the deck of the ferry. The captain rushed down to make sure he was all right.
The captain said, "Man, that was a tremendous leap, but if you would have just waited another minute, we would have reached the dock, and you could have walked on."
As humans, we hastily attempt to drain every minute of productivity out of each hour of every day. We can become so engulfed in our work or our studies that we fail to take the time to "stop and smell the roses". God understands that we wish to be productive with our lives, but His Word tells us that we should never live in such a rush that we fail to remember Him. Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God." For many this can be a hard principle to grasp, but by taking time each day to connect with God, we can handle the deadlines and rush hours of our lives with purpose and meaning. Today, let's take a moment to reflect upon the Maker of time.
