When our publisher, Scott Tredeau, spotted the clock in an antique shop, he knew it had to grace our latest cover. It’s an excellent image for a quarterly magazine like ours because we always go to print near the start of a new season. He asked me to think of a Bible verse whose numbers he could set the clock’s hands on. After thought and prayer, I landed on Daniel 2:21: “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.”
I’m writing this in late August. It’s still sweltering hot most days, but the evening and morning breezes just started carrying the slightest hint that fall is on the way. Honestly, the promise tucked inside that taste of cool air is what keeps me going through our long, humid summers. I can trust that “sweaty weather” will always turn into “sweater weather” because Someone much bigger than me set it up that way. No season has ever skipped its turn.
I believe this verse tells us that the same kind of trust is warranted when looking at the times in which we’re living. Although clocks and calendar pages shift predictably, history does not. Things established today could last for centuries or dissolve tomorrow. Leaders are raised or removed according to God’s plan, from government officials to employers and teachers. We can also follow symbolic “kings” against our best interest, such as worrying, overworking or slothfulness. Wisdom recognizes their rule over our life and asks God to remove them.
The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about wisdom, and James 1:5 tells us that if we want to be wise, we only have to ask. God delights in giving us wisdom, knowledge and understanding. One sign of wise people is that they are stable no matter how the world is shaking around them. They value peace, and they will not sacrifice it by being agitated over situations beyond their control.
Clocks almost seem alive, the way their constant forward motion helps us keep pace with time. In the same way, faith is constantly in motion, with months, seasons and life events serving as hallmarks for the next new thing. Like the wisest clockmaker, God set it up that way. As for me, I’m grateful that His goodness can be found in every new moment, no matter what time it is.
We would like to thank the staff at Antiques and Stuff for allowing us to come to their store to take the picture for the 2024 fall cover of The NEWTON Community Magazine.
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