Colossians 1:16-17: God of the Next 30 Minutes

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” - Abraham Kuyper
There is a time in the morning that is mine. It lasts from about 5:30AM to about 6:00AM, when I get up to start breakfast for the family. In about 30 minutes, my wife will come down and make lunch and in about 45 my daughter will make her brief appearance before rushing out the door to school. The truth is, it doesn't really take me 30 minutes most days. But it is quiet and, these days, it is relatively dark and my brain has a chance to kickstart and my heart is calm.

I have learned over the years of doing this that certain things don't work during this time. For example, I can't look at my phone, because, inevitably, there will be an e-mail from our overseas office that either dominates my (very limited at that time in the morning) thinking or irritates me (I'm not quite as flexible).

I'd like to say that I was a spiritual giant and pulled out my Bible and prayed for that 1/2 hour. I do read, sometimes. I do pray, sometimes. Mostly, though, I enjoy it. The night shift is over. God has been at work for the past several hours, while I was sleeping. The world did not fall apart in my absence. His mercies are renewed, per usual. My mind wanders a bit.

He is still in charge for the next 30 minutes also. That's when other sleepy people show up, hungry, searching for homework and clean clothes. Then the conversations, the calendar, the e-mails and text messages crowd in with the litany of the day's commitments. But if I start with that 30 minutes, I find that the God of that calm is also the God of the chaos that follows. There is nothing that surprises Him; nothing that worries Him; nothing where He wonders, "What is to be done?" He is God of the next 30 minutes. And the 30 minutes after that.

"...all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Colossians 3:16b-17

It doesn't always work. Beautiful mornings shipwrecked by the worries of tomorrow or the hurt feelings of yesterday. When that happens, I look back with regret on that quiet time. But that regret is not a bad thing: it is a reminder of what could be. It is a longing for God to extend His peace over the rest of my time. So, many days I remember to invite him along. "God, will you come with me to X" or "God, will you join me in this conversation with Y" I'm still figuring it out, but I figure that if I let him be God of the next 30 minutes, maybe I can also let him be God of the 30 minutes after that.