Summer time.
For students or parents of students it’s a big change in responsibilities and time management. For others it means the beginning of less morning traffic, or the scheduling of a vacation or two, or shifting levels of busyness at work. For still others it’s simply a perspective shift, moving to a time of longer days, outdoor BBQs, camping, baseball games, increased relaxation and fun.
But I want you to think for a moment about your life two and a half months from now. Summer will be over, school will be back in session and more normal routines will have returned. Two and a half months from now, you will come out the other side of summer and you will have changed some, potentially a lot. But however you are different or the same, it will be the product of choices you have made.
This could be the summer that your prayer life takes off like never before. Or it could be a summer where your prayer life wanes or dries up altogether.
This could be the summer you get into better physical shape—lose weight, gain muscle, strengthen your heart. Or it could be the summer of poor eating and poor exercise choices.
This could be the summer that you reduce your financial stress and debt or it could be the summer of increased financial stress and debt.
This could be the summer that you experience the joy of generous living and unleash your time and money into causes in your community and world that stir your soul. Or this could be the summer that your heart gets colder to the things of God, and you don’t grow in generosity, but instead either flat-line or see yourself intensify the pursuit of other wants and desires.
This could be the summer you read one or two great books that stretch your mind and grow your soul. Or it could be the summer of increased movie and television viewing.
This summer you can invest time in your kids that they will remember and talk for the rest of their life. Or you can watch the days pass by consumed with other tasks.
This summer you can develop deeper friendships and deeper trust.
This summer to can learn more about God and experience more of his grace.
This summer can be the best summer of your life!
But one thing is certain. Two and a half months from now, on the other side of summer, you will have changed some, potentially a lot. But however you are different or the same, it will be the product of choices you have made.
And I think God would say to you and me today: “Seize the Summer!”
In Ephesians 5:15-16, Paul writes: “Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity.”
“Seize the summer!” Paul says.
Now if you want to seize the summer, there is something you’ll want to build that will help you seize what God is calling you to seize.
That thing is an adult’s best friend, a child’s best friend, an athlete’s best friend, an employee’s best friend, a boss’s best friend, a student’s best friend. And it can be your best friend.
It’s momentum.
Momentum is sometimes the only difference between losing and winning.
It’s why in basketball games, when the opposing team scores a lot of unanswered points and starts to develop too much momentum, a good coach will call a time-out. The coach knows that if the other team’s momentum gets too strong, his team is likely to lose the game.
The value of momentum works in the world of dating, too. In dating, the first three dates can give you great momentum. If your first date is bad, you probably won’t have a second. And if your second date is bad, that might be the end, too. Same for the third date. But if your first three dates are great, and your fourth date is bad, you’ve probably got enough momentum to secure a fifth date.
Momentum can help you speak with confidence and take bold risks. It can give you energy to stick to an exercise program or finish reading a book you’ve started. It can help you get a job or get a promotion. It can enable you to more easily keep a promise to your spouse, children or friends.
Momentum can help you do things you never thought you could do on your own.
The life of David (recorded mostly in 1 and 2 Samuel) in the Bible is a great example of how to build momentum and how it can bless your life.
His entire life story is a story that can be viewed through the lens of momentum. But one series of episodes is particularly instructive to me.
One night David is tending sheep and a bear tries to attack and eat his sheep. In fact the bear grabs one and starts to carry it off. But David, despite feeling some degree of obvious fear, chases the bear down, kills it and rescues the sheep “from the bear’s mouth.”
My guess is that that event built some confidence in David, confidence in what God was able to do through him (because in the text David acknowledges that it was God’s power working through him that delivered him from the bear).
Later a lion attacks and tries to eat one of his sheep. This time David “seizes” the lion “by its hair” and kills it, rescuing the sheep. Again David credits God’s power for this rescue. And, no doubt, he’s feeling even more confident about what God can do in and through him.
Fast forward, now, to a story that we probably all know: David vs. Goliath. Goliath, a
Philistine warrior and giant, challenges any Israelite who dares to a one-on-one fight to the death. “Choose a man and have him come down to me,” Goliath yells. “If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.”
But instead of rising to the challenge, “all the Israelites are dismayed and terrified.” That is, all but David. See David has momentum. He knows the power of God and has taken down a few giants (a bear and a lion) in recent days.
So David fights Goliath and defeats him, too.
And now David’s momentum is nearly unstoppable. Later, the text says that whatever King Saul sent David to do, he “did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army.”
And it’s not very long after that that David becomes King of Israel.
These events are instructive because they teach us some principles about seizing the summer!
First, David trusted God and relied on His strength. Paul writes to the church in
Second, David acted. He seized the moment. He didn’t shrink back from what he wanted to accomplish, he took bold steps towards fulfilling what he was called to do.
Often in life, the first step is the hardest. If you’ve ever water skied, you know that it’s harder to get up on the water than it is to steer once you’re up there. Before you get up, the boat drags you along, and you think your arms are going to give out as the water floods against your chest and into your face. For a moment, you may even believe you can’t hold on to the tow rope any longer. But then the force of the water drives your skis up onto the surface, and off you go. At that point, you are able to make a turn with only a subtle shift of weight from one foot to another.
Getting started is often hard, but once you’re moving forward, it’s easier. That’s the way the momentum works. Seize this moment and with every step you take, no matter how small, you will build greater momentum.
That's why it's so important to lose the first pound or exercise that first day. That's why it's so important to make the first deposit into that dormant savings account. That's why it's so important to take the first step towards setting aside time to build into your kids or volunteer in the community.
Third, David, despite some major hiccups along the way, never lost sight of his ultimate goal. He remained intensely focused on his overall goal. David’s words in Psalm 27:4 reflect that goal:
“One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”
If your desire is to do great things with your summer, never overlook the power of momentum. It truly is your best friend. If you develop it, you can do almost anything.
So what area of your life might God be calling you to take action in this summer?
Trust him, take action, keep your eye on your ultimate goal.
Seize the summer!
