Believe me, my parents meant it when they said it: “Be punctual, on time, and never late.” If I was out one minute too long, I was in the next night and didn’t go anywhere—grounded!

Due to this extreme, heavy-handed, and unfair parental practice, I became a time conscious freak of society. If I don’t have a watch on my left wrist, I still feel like I’m naked.

What my parents did for me has actually been a blessing. I’m rarely late for anything; I know the time; and, I understand its inherent value.

Time can be the moment or second in which you live, or it can be the theme of the situation in which you are involved. Understanding or knowing the time, is a theme of Scripture:
• Romans 13:11-12: Besides this you know the time that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
• Ephesians 5:15-17: Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise—making the most of the time,[a] because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
• I Timothy 4:1-2: Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.

Jesus was well-aware of the time when He said, “Now My soul is troubled. What should I say—Father, save Me from this hour? But that is why I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name! ~John 12:27-28

As He was stepping into what would be the most excruciating week of His earthly life, Jesus did not say: “Where’s the exit door?” “How can I escape this situation?”

Instead, His focus was on how God could be glorified, and He concentrated on the praise of God and not on His pain. Had Jesus just focused on His pain, the story of the Bible may ended much differently.

What has captured your attention recently? Has it has been personal affliction and pain. If so, you may find life a struggle. Instead of looking in, remember to look above and give God the praise for what is right and what is good.

Psalm 34:19 is an appropriate conclusion to this discussion: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”