My watch jumped to March 1st today even though it
is February 29th because it is leap year. Yes, every four years we
get an extra day to balance the Gregorian calendar whose origins are of Pope
Gregory of the 16th century. It causes me to wonder a bit about
meaning.
Biblically there is no real reference to leap year. There
is the fascinating reference in Joshua 10 speaking of God hearing Joshua
concerning his enemies. They were routed as the sun and moon stood still for
God to rout Israel’s enemies the Amorites. “On
the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in
the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and
you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
So the sun stood still,
and
the moon stopped,
till
the nation avenged itself on[a] its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of
Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of
the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like
it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the
Lord was fighting for Israel!” (Joshua 10:12-14).
I find
that we may have been given a day to enjoy or waste or make the most of. Psalm
90 concerning the eternity of God gives us an admonition of days and life.
“All
our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
Our
days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength
endures;
yet
the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly
away.
If
only we knew the power of your anger!
Your wrath is as great as the
fear that is your due.
Teach
us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of
wisdom” (Psalm
90:9-12).
Life
is hard and we are only given so many days that pass very quickly. So let’s
make the most of them or number them with a heart of wisdom that is gained
through the years, hopefully! This
wisdom comes from the God who numbers our days. This is a verse that I have
preached at funerals and sometimes the recipient has done just that, sometimes
not. We have a choice, not the number of days, but how we spend them.
This
leap year I look at it as an overflow. We are given abundantly an extra day to
enjoy, spend productively for what? The Psalmist David said that The Lord our
“Shepherd” makes us to lie down in green pastures and leads us beside still
waters if we will only take advantage of the stillness and time to walk with
the Lord. He goes on to say that God sets a banquet for us against our enemies
of pain, fear, illness, joblessness and sins of many kinds. He anoints us and
our cups “overflow.” I like the overflowing image like a leap year day that
flows over the calendar. The psalms are full of overflowing images: “And
our carts overflow with abundance” (Psalm 65:11) and therefore, “My
lips overflow with praise” (Psalm 119:171). In Proverbs 3:10 Solomon
says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your
crops; then your barns will be filled with overflowing.” God promises a blessing for our trust. God
wants us to be overflowing in every way. “May the Lord make your love increase and
overflow for each other and for everyone else” (1 Thessalonians 3:12).
We can’t do this without the Holy Spirit empowering us as Romans 15:13 tells
us, “May
the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that
you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
So
this one extra day, make it a point to overflow with gratitude, joy and peace
as you recognize that this day is a gift of God that flows from above. Make it
a good one.