The Weekly Encourager - August 24, 2011 - Earthquake!

The Weekly Encourager - August 24, 2011 - Earthquake!

"OMG!  We just had an earthquake!" was my post on Facebook yesterday at 1:53 pm.  Normally, I'm not a fan of using "Oh my God" as a throwaway expletive every third sentence, but this time I really was talking to God.  The fact that, on a picture-postcard perfect day in Virginia, an earthquake of 5.8 magnitude could hit an area where natural disasters are quite scarce is a reminder that there are greater forces at work in the universe than we can see.  It's a timely call to acknowledge God as the sovereign ruler of all earth and heaven.  Though the earth shake....In Him we move and have our being.

Experiencing the earthquake and then assessing the damage seems to have a spiritual parallel.  How solid is my house?  Is it built upon the Rock, Jesus Christ, or does it ride upon the sand with every shifting tide?  Thanks be to God, I live in a brick and block house solidly built in 1956; and, although the house shuddered in the quake, I see no major damage.  It looks like the only things affected were a large antique stained glass piece in our front window and some small china and glass mementos which fell from a bedroom shelf.  While walking around the house, I was thinking that the earthquake proved that the house and almost everything in it are stable.  Without an earthquake, I never would have known just how well our house is built!   In the same way, God sometimes rocks our world to prove the stability of our faith.  Whether it's illness, losing a job, losing a loved one, or loneliness, we are being tested to see how much we rely upon the Lord.  Yesterday in my mind I was singing the old chorus, "Safe and secure from all alarms,...leaning on the Everlasting Arms."  When we emerge on the other side of a severe trial, we have a joyful spiritual satisfaction that nothing in this world can match.  We feel the Lord's pleasure.  Well done, good and faithful servant.  Enjoy the party!

News reports reminded us that if we feel an earthquake, we should go to the lowest floor of the building and crouch under a strong table to protect our bodies from damage.  The worst thing you can do is to run outside where you might be hit by falling debris, yet that's what many people did yesterday.  The spiritual parallel is that when unexpected trouble hits, we get nowhere by giving in to fear, running around, and looking to the outside world for direction.  Instead, we must go deep down into the foundation of our faith, the ancient bedrock of salvation.  We may need to review the basic truths: God loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life.  Nothing in this life can take away my eternal joy in Him.  "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride." - Psalm 46:1-3

My overwhelming response to yesterday's earthquake was thankfulness that God spared me, my family, and most of my possessions again.  Thanks to modern technology, I have seen many perish in massive earthquakes, hurricanes, avalanches, and tsunamis, yet for some mysterious reason, He chose to let me live longer on this earth.  The bumper sticker should say, "If you can read this, thank the Lord!"  His goodness, mercy, and faithfulness are more dependable than the mountains, more sure than the ground beneath us.  His love never fails!

God is faithful,
j

Copyright 2011 Janet A. Marney
As always, I welcome your comments.