2018 Weekly Devotional - Week 43

Week 43

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

      Many of you know that I’m a watch nerd. I readily admit it. I am fascinated by mechanical watches, in other words those that are not battery powered. I think that the combination of form and function come together elegantly in wrist watches, especially those with multiple complications. A watch complication is any function that exists in addition to telling time on a timepiece. Complications include things like a chronograph, moon phase, power reserve, day/date, perpetual calendar and so on. Perhaps my favorite complication is the GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). A little history is in order. When commercial trans-Atlantic flight became a reality through Pan Am airlines, Rolex developed the GMT master. Launched in 1954, the watch had several practical complications. The GMT complication allowed the Pan Am pilots to instantly read two different time zones simultaneously as well as having a date complication. The ability to indicate local time, time in another time-zone, the date, a rotating bezel for tracking time in a third time-zone, being water resistant to 100 meters all the while taking place through mechanical means is absolutely fascinating to me. If I were to have one watch the Rolex GMT Master would be it. Not only is it highly functional, it looks really cool as well!

    In our hustle and bustle we are often guilty of heaping many disconnected things onto our lives. These aren’t like watch complications that work in harmony. Rather they simply complicate our lives and make them difficult. Perhaps we should ask, “Is this a helpful complication or is it just more?” Contrary to our disconnected complications, God has the ability to work all things for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. He takes the many different situations and circumstances of those who are moving toward his purpose, and like a master horologist, assembles them all together for good in an elaborate design. What may seem like disconnected or even negative events, God will weave for our good. What an encouragement! When we are actively loving God and moving in his purpose God works all things for our good. That is a staggering promise! What a joy it is to know that our Lord is working on our behalf.

In Christ,

John