Pastor Jeffrey Rachmat, JPCC
As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease. Gen 8:22
There will be day and night. God has ordained it that way. We cannot change the order that God has ordained. There are things in life that we cannot change. Since we cannot change them. what do we then? We have to accept them as the reality and adapt ourselves to it. Our refusal to accept and to adapt to the reality will create problem.
Sometimes ,the way we see the problem is the problem. The situation may become worse when we try to fight or change the problem.
Many times there problem in marriages is not a problem at all. We just cannot accept that man and woman are different. We think we married the wrong person, we want to get divorce and find someone else.
Adapting means I am the one who needs to change / to adjust, instead of expecting the situation or others to change. We need to be smart to observe the day and night and take advantage of it.
Day is the time we wake up to go to work, to school and carry out a lot of activities. The sun is shining and we can see clearly. Night is the time we go to rest, to regain energy for the next day.
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light. Jn 11:9-10
For some, night time is party time. They enjoy the night as much as they enjoy the day.
1 Cor 15:46
The truth is parallel. In our spiritual life, we also experience daytime and nighttime just like we experience in the natural. The daytime in the spiritual life is when we can see clearly and we can see a far distance, when we hear clearly the voice of the Holy Spirit, when we make good decisions. This is the time we achieve much. We can see and we can feel that God is with us.
If we have been Christian long enough, we know in our spiritual life, it’s not always daytime. We don’t have to be afraid. God is a good god, he wants to reach us.
There is nighttime in our spiritual life. Things seem unclear. We cannot feel the presence of God. Many Christians panic when they enter their spiritual nighttime. Most of us don’t like it. The nighttime can become worse if we try to change it or try to fight it.
God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. Gen 1:16-18
God create the day and the night for us. We should enjoy both.
And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” Gen 2:19-22
From the time God put Adam into the Garden of Eden, all he knew was work. God put him to work. Adam was a new creation. God wanted to know how it work. God need to see his potential by putting him to work. But God didn’t design him to work ceaselessly. When Adam was asleep, God was working. When Adam was working, God did not do anything as he trust in the potential that has put into him. Adam didn’t check with God whether the animals’ name were ok. God didn’t interfere with the naming of the animals. God was probably very proud of Adam.
Sometimes we are not clear. We ask God everything. “Can I do this, God?” We cannot make decisions. We are not sure if we should step out to do something.
God decided it was his time to work. He put Adam to sleep and made a woman for Adam. How did that work? Adam didn’t know because he was asleep. God didn’t get his opinion. That’s why woman are always a mystery to men.
From the beginning, God wanted to work together with man. God gave man light for him to do what he must do, what he could do, what is possible. When he sleeps, God will do what Adam could not do.
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” Mk 4:26-29
In the parable we read from Mk 4:26-29 we see the partnership between God and man. Growth happens during the night, when we are sleep, while we are resting.
It is vain for you to rise up early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of [anxious] toil—for He gives [blessings] to His beloved in sleep. Ps 127:2 (AMP)
Pastor Jeffrey has three children. He never prayed for them to grow. He also didn’t have to worry about them not growing. He just provided they have the necessary food.
1 Cor 3:6-9
God create day so we can work and night so we can rest. When we rest, God will work in our behalf for our benefit.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls Mt 11:28
Sometimes we don’t have to ask God when it’s so clear what we need to do. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Give God the chance to grow the seeds. That’s why some have never seen growth in life.
Our rest will not do us any good when we don’t do anything during daytime. A seed can be in the form of labour, money, love, care, prayers, etc.
As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. Jn 9:4
When we are having success, don’t judge those who are not doing so well. Come alongside them and help them. Plant seeds while it’s day. We will find that when we wake up from night, not only the seeds have grown, we ourselves too.
In the Bible, we see from day 1, “evening and day” is 1 day. A day seems to always start with the evening. We rest before we start our labour.
We plan our schedule with rest (holidays) first, once it’s done, then plan the other holidays.
When we try to work or to stay awake at night. Then night seems to go very slowly. But when we sleep, we feel the night passes very fast. When we are awake during the night, a little sound can scare us.
When we don’t take opportunity to sleep at night, we don’t rest and when the sun rises, we cannot have the energy to work properly. Sleep is not just to rest but it also gives us a chance to dream.
For God does speak—now one way, now another—
though no one perceives it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on people
as they slumber in their beds
Find some seeds we can plant. Give God something to work on.
For God does speak—now one way, now another—
though no one perceives it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on people
as they slumber in their beds
We need to use our vision during daytime and sleep at night.
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