If you have ever heard any of Mark Lowry’s comedy, you may remember that he says his favorite Bible verse is “It came to pass.” He always gets a laugh when he mentions this, but at the root of the humor is a kernel of truth.

Many times in Scripture we read those words – “It came to pass…” If you look close enough you will find that it is actually used over 300 times in the King James version of the Bible. So what does it mean? Well, literally it means that an expanse of time has passed since the previous passage. It means that the action in the Biblical narrative has come to a new place that is farther into the future than where we were previously in the action.

But what Mark Lowry points to is this – things come to pass. They don’t come to stay. The situation you are facing right now will indeed at some point in the future have passed. It will have come to pass. And you will be at another point in your life’s story.

As we turn the page to a New Year, we can indeed say that 2014 has passed. If we were writing the headline for January 2015, we might say – “It came to pass that after 365 days, a New Year dawned.” I like that thought. 2014 has come and gone. 2015 is here. But alas, it won’t be here forever either. It will soon pass. As a matter of fact, as I write this the New Year has already spent 7 of its days and we are working on the 8th. One of its 52 weeks is gone. That’s almost 2% of 2015 that has come and passed.

So, what am I getting at? Well, it’s this – whatever you are going through, remember you are going through it. God is going to bring you through it to the other side. Maybe not today, maybe not this week, maybe not even this year – but one day it will “come to pass” that you have made it through by the grace and divine plan of God.

It also serves as a reminder that time is fleeting. Don’t waste it. Remember what the sundial at Twelve Oaks Plantation in “Gone with the Wind” reminds us – “Do not squander time, for it is the stuff life is made of.” (It is actually a quote from Benjamin Franklin by the way) So this New Year – don’t waste time. Spend more time with your family, spend more time with the Lord, spend more time in His Word and in His house. Because once you have “spent” time, it is just like money – it is spent, gone for good. Make sure you are spending it for good.

Happy New Year – Hopefully it will come to pass that I will see you in church this week!