An Inkling
I’m writing this on Tuesday. I don’t believe much differently than I did last Tuesday. But in the meantime God took his highlighter to some of my beliefs.
We awakened Friday to learn about the huge earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Our middle daughter, Dorothy, and her husband, Brandon, live on the Atsugi Naval base, just south of Tokyo. So naturally we were concerned. Thankfully Brandon had already posted on Facebook that they were both okay.
But there was more to the story. When the earth quaked Dorothy and a friend were an hour from home, up in the mountains at a spa. The quake shook the building, rocking its columns, but it stood fast. But then they didn’t know what to do. They heard announcements – in Japanese, but they found no one to interpret. They gathered that the train which had brought them there was not running. They also discovered that they were out of cell phone contact with the base. So they were alone and afraid. Then, amazingly, a retired naval officer and his wife, who had driven to the same spa, appeared out of nowhere and offered them a ride back to the base. The wife, who is Japanese, could understand the tsunami warnings, and so they steered away from the coast, using her iPhone to map a course on the back roads. Between their roundabout course and some mudslides, it took them ten hours to get home. But home they got!
As I said, I don’t believe differently than I did a week ago. But through this event God has highlighted some his truth and promises, such as:
- That which looks solid is really not. Only the Lord is beyond quaking.
- Life is fragile. Thus the joy of knowing that our life in Christ is beyond shaking.
- The Lord is endlessly resourceful in caring for his children. (How about a retired Navy guy and his Japanese wife with a car!)
- We must trust our loved ones to the care of the One whose arms are both longer and stronger than ours.
- Even so, it is well to pray for God’s blessing and protection for our loved ones. You never know how God might use your prayers.
- And finally, watching the horrid images of the destruction, I can say ever more certainly that our world needs a Savior.
In the scripture God has given us all sorts of amazing promises and enlightening truths. But he didn’t just publish them once long ago and then move on to other things. Rather, through the various events of our lives, he highlights them in ever new ways. And so this week the Lord’s power, goodness, and grace has been highlighted for me.
Thank you Lord! What’s he highlighting for you?
Blessings,
Keith
