Thursday, May 7, 2020

The sun comes up at the set time.

I watched the sun come up this morning. As I did so, I was reminded that no matter how crazy things become, there are still those natural laws that God has put in place. The world continues to spin on its axis. The days are still 24 hours long. You can be certain when the sun will rise and when it will set. The hours of the days are the same. Yes, it is below average temperature. But then again, when you read that sentence, you realize that this is not that unusual. Why? Because when you take the average of temperatures, you look at what has happened over the last certain number of years - the highs and the lows - and it tells you that it is not unusual to be "below" normal just as it is not unusual to be "above" normal. The average just let's us know what is the, wait for it, "average" of those temps. I know, not earth shattering, but then again, it shows you that no matter how much things change, things will remain the same.

That is comforting to know. This means that I know that the Lord is still in control of the universe, which means He is still in control of this world, which means He is still in control of my life. Think about that. You are not alone in what is going on. While you might think your life is spinning out of control, the Lord is right there with you. You might mess your life up by your sinful actions, but the Lord is working in your life to help you turn from your sin (it is difficult to acknowledge the fact that you messed things up and need to turn from that sin), and will forgive you and be with you as your begin to rebuild your life. He is there with you in the midst of your cancer, heart disease or coronavirus. He is there with you when your business is struggling because it was forced to be shut down because of the pandemic.

There is such comfort in knowing that Jesus Christ, the Lord of this universe, is with you wherever you go and whatever you are doing. I rejoice to know that as I get up today, Jesus is with me. When I walk out of the house, the Lord is with me. When I go to the office, the Lord is with me. When I drive down the road, the almighty God is with me. This came into focus for me once again this week when one of our members was entering the last hours of his life. He was in the nursing home here in Clarinda. Because of the virus, no one is allowed in the nursing homes. I give thanks that they allowed the family to come in and be with him. They allowed me to come in and spend some time with him. Yet, even if none of us were with him, he was still not alone. The Lord was with him. The Lord was sitting next to the him in the bed. The Lord held his hand as he lay there. And the Lord gathered him into His arms as he breathed his last. Isn't that comforting? The Lord is with each and every one of us each and every day. What a great God, and what great comfort and strength.

Yes, the days are a mess. But the Lord isn't. Yes we are struggling through the days. But the Lord is there strengthening us. Yes we are wondering when this will change. But we know that the Lord will never change.

Makes you want to sing, doesn't it! "Now thank we all our God, with hearts and hands and voices..." All right, so you didn't have to suffer through my off key singing. Yet, you can sing it in your head, or perhaps even out loud if those around you don't mind.

May you find comfort and strength in the Lord today. The sun will set tonight at the set time. And at that moment, you can know that the Lord is with you. Thank You Lord!

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