Hurricane/Tropical Storm Sandy knocked out power to an entire region of the US. Millions of people without power. I read today that it might be as long as ten days before the power is back on.
How long could you live without electricity?
I began to think about my family- what would we do with prolonged power outage? What would we do if there was no gasoline for the car, no electricity for heat, cooking, etc? This is a reality up in New York right now.
It makes me think that our safety and security are pretty much an illusion. We truly are helpless.
I know that my family probably would not survive a prolonged power outage. I don't have a chicken coupe or a vegetable garden to provide me with a source of food. I don't have enough firewood to heat the house for a long period of time, and I don't have enough candles to light the place after dark.
For all of our advances in technology and our arrogant proclamation of self-sufficiency, it was an ordinary combination of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom that flooded subways, knocked out power, destroyed cars, ravaged homes, and threw the New England region into chaos.
We as human beings can't even handle water and wind. This storm did more than destroy property- it reminded us that we truly are very helpless. We are not as powerful as we have led ourselves to believe. The only thing that has kept us alive is the fact that these "reminders"- like hurricanes- don't happen everyday.
In light of this fact, I have two comments to make. The words of Jesus in Matthew 6:19-20 were proved true in Hurricane Sandy: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." Hurricane Sandy reminds us that nothing we have here on earth is really ours, and we have nothing that is material that can't be lost, stolen, or destroyed. Every time a Hurricane Sandy comes along, it is a stark reminder of where our treasure truly is.
The second is this: Jesus and His disciples were in a boat, and there was a huge storm. He stood up, spoke, and calmed the storm. His disciples said, in Matthew 8:27- “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
We as humans can't handle water and wind. But we serve a God who does. We serve a God who is capable of calming the storm or placing us right in the middle of it. Whatever His reasoning, He has given us the promise that He will never leave nor forsake us. So, embrace your helplessness. Take a true, sober view of the fact that we truly are at the mercy of many things, that our prosperity is based on a house of cards. Then, embrace the God who CAN handle the wind and waves, who holds all the cards, who does have the power over life and death.
Realizing weakness and embracing surrender are two key points to growing in faith. There are only two types of people in this world- those that are weak (and know it) and those that are weak (and don't know it). With your treasure in heaven and your faith in the Master, you will no longer be helpless.
How long could you live without electricity?
I began to think about my family- what would we do with prolonged power outage? What would we do if there was no gasoline for the car, no electricity for heat, cooking, etc? This is a reality up in New York right now.
It makes me think that our safety and security are pretty much an illusion. We truly are helpless.
I know that my family probably would not survive a prolonged power outage. I don't have a chicken coupe or a vegetable garden to provide me with a source of food. I don't have enough firewood to heat the house for a long period of time, and I don't have enough candles to light the place after dark.
For all of our advances in technology and our arrogant proclamation of self-sufficiency, it was an ordinary combination of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom that flooded subways, knocked out power, destroyed cars, ravaged homes, and threw the New England region into chaos.
We as human beings can't even handle water and wind. This storm did more than destroy property- it reminded us that we truly are very helpless. We are not as powerful as we have led ourselves to believe. The only thing that has kept us alive is the fact that these "reminders"- like hurricanes- don't happen everyday.
In light of this fact, I have two comments to make. The words of Jesus in Matthew 6:19-20 were proved true in Hurricane Sandy: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." Hurricane Sandy reminds us that nothing we have here on earth is really ours, and we have nothing that is material that can't be lost, stolen, or destroyed. Every time a Hurricane Sandy comes along, it is a stark reminder of where our treasure truly is.
The second is this: Jesus and His disciples were in a boat, and there was a huge storm. He stood up, spoke, and calmed the storm. His disciples said, in Matthew 8:27- “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
We as humans can't handle water and wind. But we serve a God who does. We serve a God who is capable of calming the storm or placing us right in the middle of it. Whatever His reasoning, He has given us the promise that He will never leave nor forsake us. So, embrace your helplessness. Take a true, sober view of the fact that we truly are at the mercy of many things, that our prosperity is based on a house of cards. Then, embrace the God who CAN handle the wind and waves, who holds all the cards, who does have the power over life and death.
Realizing weakness and embracing surrender are two key points to growing in faith. There are only two types of people in this world- those that are weak (and know it) and those that are weak (and don't know it). With your treasure in heaven and your faith in the Master, you will no longer be helpless.
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