How God Blessed Us In August 2020

Well, a puddle around the bottom of our hot water heater was anything but a blessing. Fortunately, what promised to be a headache instead became an opportunity to see how God provides.

I suppose I should have gotten rid of the old hot water heater before it started rusting. The person who installed it wrote the date on its side, so I knew it was already twelve years old. For the first three or four years I was good about draining it to remove all of the sediment that forms at the bottom. But as the years passed I became a little less diligent about maintaining the unit. And then I stopped draining it altogether. So I shouldn't have been surprised at the ring of water forming around the bottom of the unit as it had finally rusted through.

What was surprising was the estimate for replacing the unit. I know I didn't pay that much twelve years ago. The cost of homeownership has definitely gone up in a way that seems somewhat unfair and with all that's going on during this ride we call life, the last thing I wanted was to have to pay for a repair. Fortunately my Provider is always a step or two ahead.

There have been a number of times in my life where I found myself with an unexpected sum of money that wound up being just what we needed for a repair or for some other unexpected event. This time was no different. We had a lump sum sitting in the bank that we were able to set aside for remodeling but somehow we just couldn't get the project going. It was like a little voice kept saying, "It's not the right time," as we kept being redirected away from our chosen path to a much different path.

As a result of not being able to start that project we had exactly what was quoted for the surprise repair, right down to the penny. We paid cash for our new hot water heater. There was no need to borrow nor did we have to dig into savings. The money was there right when we needed it. What was a surprise to us was not a surprise to God and He directed us to the path we needed to be on.

God provided once again. And you know what? I believe He will provide for the remodeling we have planned. He is also ready to step in the next time we need to make repairs. In fact, He has already provided for the long overdue removal of a tree in our backyard. Once again we will be able to pay cash for a big project and I thank God for providing for us this summer.

Now I know that some of you will dismiss this as simply a result of my wife and my hard work and as a result of good money management. That's ok for you to think that and both of those things were involved here to some degree. But I've seen time and time again where what is provided goes beyond the monthly normal and what we could do on our own. I've seen coincidence after coincidence that go beyond expectation. Most of all I've seen God promise and then deliver. I take comfort in knowing that this is what He does for His children.

How is God blessing you today?

Where Do You Draw the Line on Obedience?

Would you do anything for God? What if He asks you to do something embarrassing? In Isaiah 20, God wanted to send a sign to the Egyptians and the Ethiopians letting them know that they would soon be led off into captivity. To get everyone’s attention, God asked Isaiah to do something embarrassing. Now, God could have asked Isaiah to speak a prophetic word or even to perform a few miracles. That’s the kind of stuff we normally see in the Old Testament. He could have asked Isaiah to lead a praise service or to start a new program, the kinds of things we would expect in today’s church. God did not ask for any of the typical things associated with religion. Instead He asked Isaiah to take off his clothes and to go for a walk.

According to Matthew Henry's Commentary there is debate as to whether or not Isaiah was naked or if he was in his skivvies. Either way he was dressed (or undressed) in a way that would cause most people to run for cover. Hopefully the weather cooperated. I suspect most people, upon hearing God’s call, would have tried to back out but Isaiah did not hide from God’s command nor did he hide from his neighbors. Based on what the Bible says, Isaiah walked through town in this state for three days: three days of funny looks and embarrassing comments. Knowing that he was a prophet, the people probably recognized that this was not some college stunt. Still, this had to be a humiliating experience.

What if God asked you to take off your clothes and walk through your neighborhood? Would you do it? What if God asked for something less embarrassing but just as difficult? Would you do it? What if it were neither embarrassing nor difficult but was inconvenient? Where do you draw the line? Isaiah proved that nothing would stand between him and obedience to his LORD, not even his own clothes. I fear he puts us all to shame. I look at my own track record and realize I've put limits on my obedience to my LORD. Where do you draw the line on your obedience to God’s will? Whose more willing to obey God, you or Isaiah?

Roller Coasters and Trusting God

In my last post I wrote about my first time riding on a looping roller coaster but that wasn't my first roller coaster ride. My first was the Screamin' Eagle at Six Flags, St. Louis. Back then it was called Six Flags, Mid-America and the Screamin' Eagle was a Guinness World Record holder when it opened in 1976 due to its 110 foot climb. I didn't think about it at the time, but by riding I was putting a lot of trust in a lot of people starting with John Allen, the designer of the awe inspiring wooden coaster. I didn’t know him but I am glad he knew what he was doing when he designed his awe inspiring coaster.

In fact, whenever you or I get on a coaster we are putting our trust in a lot of people. There are the designers and their computer simulations. (Yes I know the simulations don't count as people but we trust them all the same.) We trust the builders, hoping they followed the designs to a "T". We trust the maintenance workers and the inspectors whose jobs are to keep the ride safe.  We even trust the teenagers who spend their summers trying to earn a buck while watching others have fun. We wouldn't trust them with our cars but we trust them with our safety on a roller coaster. (Ok, let’s try not to think about that.) The point is we trust a lot of people to keep us safe on a roller coaster even though we really don't think about or even know them.

The same can be said when we drive a car or when we enter a building. We put our trust in the engineers and architects. We trust the mechanics and repairmen to do a good job and to keep us safe. We find ourselves trusting in the workmanship, ability and integrity of people we often have never met. We simply use their products without taking even one moment to think about whether or not they've done enough to keep us safe. We simply trust.

So, is God on that list of people you trust? What about when God asks you to step out of your comfort zone? Do you trust God when He asks you to weather the storm or when He asks you to wait? Do you trust Him enough to be still when every ounce of your being says it's time to move? We call our religion the Christian faith. Faith is all about trust even when our own understanding says otherwise. That is part of the call: that we trust God even when it's uncomfortable to do so. We are called to have faith without any limits on how far we trust Him.

So, even when it's difficult, even in the storms, even when life is like a roller coaster, do you trust God?