For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Romans 8:15

Despite the extra hour of sleep I get when we turn back our clocks an hour each fall, I don’t like the time change that brings the darkness earlier each evening. Less light in the evening, even one hour, dampens my spirits and reminds me that we will soon fall back into the season of winter when — where I call home — bare trees, gray skies, and bitter cold will prevail.

The same is true in my spiritual life. My spirit is often darkened by recollections of failures or worries about the future. I fall back into fear, a slave to my sinful nature. Yet, because of Jesus, my future doesn’t lie in the bitterness of winter, but in the eternal spring of new life in Him — a place in His family bathed in the warmth of His light.

Sandi Geis
St. Louis, MO

Abba! Father! Shine on me that I may have hope and joy in every season of life. Amen.

Reflect: What causes you to fear? Instead of falling back into the devil’s trap, fall on Jesus.

Read: John 8:12 and Romans 8:1, 12-17