Every day we have some type of interruption we don't plan or expect. Our life is filled with things that are out of our control. Sickness, accidents, death, emotions, rudeness, incompetence, forgetfulness, misunderstandings, weather, etc. There are so many things that become life inconveniences!
For anyone with a planning type of personality like my own, it can cause a bit of stress, okay let me be real ~ MAJOR STRESS. These are those moments that I know I should trust God but so hard for me to do. If God allows these inconveniences in my life then there must be something I cannot see in the big puzzle of life. I know I do not have the capacity of being able to protect myself from all the terrible things that God protects me from each day. Yes, I do see some of what life throws at me but I believe there is so much more that I do not see that God is guiding me through without my even being aware. Some days I get it dreadfully wrong and I have only myself to blame...some days I get it right and know I have God to thank....
Last year there was a man killed by a passing truck on the exact location I walked 15 minutes prior and I was reminded again of God's protection for my own life. Next time I take a wrong turn I must remind myself of the possibility of danger had I taken the right turn. I need to trust God in everything including all the inconvenience life may bring each day! This lesson may be more for me than for you.....
This picture was taken when I took my grand~kids to see some beautiful butterfly gardens, March 2015.
During our most difficult days when my husband was suffering from kidney disease it was our Pastor and his wife that were able to embrace our grief along with us. There were others who had good intentions but could not handle our situation, then there were others who wanted us to rise above it. Most days we were lucky if we were able to rise out of bed much less have the strength to rise above our circumstances. People are not always equipped to handle each others emotions especially when it comes to something life threatening and we understood.
My Pastor requested many to pray for us during that time and so they did. Pastor and his wife took time to pray with us and for us. I requested prayer from everyone I could think of because I believe so much in prayer. Praying became difficult for me personally after so many years because I had lost the strength and didn't know what to even say anymore. I would pray, Lord, you know who and what we need today more than we do. I was grateful to know prayers were being lifted up in spite of me and there were many days we felt those prayers.
Now I pray for many others who are going through their own difficult circumstances because I know they too may not feel up to praying some days. Our own journey through the valley of the shadow of death has opened our eyes to the hopelessness and fears people are facing during those dark times. Pastors have to take care of many in their congregations who are suffering from all types of serious health issues. We want to remember to pray for our Pastors and their wives as they come along beside others and as they have their own situations with health issues. Let's consider that our Pastors, their wives and their families walk through the valley of the shadow of death with all of us so let's make sure we are continuously praying for them. Encouraging them and walking along with them in their own personal valleys in life.
Thank you Lord that you sent others in to our life to be the hands and feet of Jesus. You brought us hope when and where we least expected during every hard and difficult moment. Thank you for loving us through others and through your Son who bore the cross for our sin and all our shortcomings.
This picture was taken at a church graveyard while visiting New Castle, Delaware in 2014.
This chapter tells the story of the flood the entire earth and that only 8 people were safe in the ark. (Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives) Also, a pair of each of the animals were also safe in the ark.
Verses 1-5
God told Noah the flood was going to begin in 7 days and it would rain continually for 40 days and 40 nights.
Verses 6-24
Noah was 600 years old when the earth was flooded.
In verse 9 it says that the animals went in two and two unto Noah. They came to him. He didn’t have to go after the animals. There were animals that normally kill or eat other species and they lived in harmony on the ark.
Once Noah and the animals were on the ark, God shut and sealed the door. Noah knew that he could not save himself and relied on God to save him and his family. John 10:9 in the New Testament says, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved.” In God’s plan the door always represents Jesus.
The flood represents judgement to all mankind and all living creatures that died in this flood.
The waters remained on the earth for 150 days. This is an explanation of fossils that have been found all over the earth. Fossils are the remains of plants and animals whose bodies were buried in sand and mud under ancient seas, lakes and rivers.
We see in this chapter that God is love in His protection of Noah and his family but He is also a God of justice when it comes to disobedience. Just like any parent would be with their child. But God offers us a way to be saved from our own sin through Jesus Christ.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.
Because of our sin God sent us a way of escaping just like He did Noah and his family through His son on the cross, who paid for all our sin. All these events that we are studying in these books of the Bible will eventually lead to the cross.
