Thankfulness and the Lord’s Holiness

Last Monday, I was on my way to work. It’s a 10 km (around 6 mi) distance via the main road, and about 11 km (close to 7 mi) if I take the back way. When there is plenty of light still, I take the main road because it’s sealed all the way—the back road is mostly gravel. The main road is dangerous—being the only direct north/south road on this side of the mountains, it’s traveled a lot. But since it’s quicker and easier to travel on, I stay to the side of the road as far as I can and pray for protection.

Going to work (heading south), I have to go around many curves, up three fairly steep hills, and then I reach the big hill—the fun one, because it’s all down. It is a little nerve-wracking when a bigger vehicle tries passing me while I’m going down in between a cut. Generally, I try to wait at the top until all vehicles have passed me before going down. And I keep my brakes on as I go, because losing control in that area would be deadly.

At the bottom of the big hill there is a bridge. It’s two lane, but still pretty narrow—you wouldn’t want to stay on there long. This particular Monday, I got to the bridge and was still going fairly fast from coming down the steep hill. I knew someone was behind me, but I decided to go ahead anyway instead of stopping to wait for them to pass me—if I hurried, I’d get across before they got to the bridge.

That was my mistake. About half-way across the bridge, trying to stay to the edge so I wouldn’t be in the way of the vehicle behind me, I skimmed the guard rail. I don’t think any part of me or my bike touched the rail, just my bag that I had hanging on my left handle. That was enough, though, and it upset my balance. Before I knew it, I was in the middle of the lane, with a vehicle coming from both ways—the south-bound behind me, the north-bound in front of me! I could feel the bike tipping under me, and I remember thinking one of those thoughts that take about a quarter of a second to process.

“I’m going to go on over. That vehicle coming will hit me.”

I really don’t know what happened next. Somehow, I stayed on my bike, and managed to get back to the very edge of my side of the road—just in time for both vehicles to pass safely. I grazed the guard rail again, but once again although I thought I must have REALLY dinged my bike up good this time, in retrospect I don’t think either of my tires or my pedals actually touched the rail. Shakily, I pedaled on as fast as I could and turned onto the much quieter road the place I work on is located. There, I inspected my bike, and was thankful to realize there was not a scratch on it. And I received no bruises from the incident.

I feel so thankful that I didn’t go on over. If the car behind me had been just a few seconds closer, I would have been hit (and I do feel sorry for the driver—I’m sure they had a heart attack seeing me in the middle of their lane!). I could have crashed into the guard rail, and that would have tipped me over. I know God had His hand on me, and kept me safe. The incident made me very thankful for guardian angels!

Thursday, when I went to work again, I made sure to stop and look behind me before going over that bridge. I was going slower, and as I went across I happened to see a light by the side of the road, where people generally don’t drive. When I went back to look, it was my back bike light—one I use for riding in the dark. It is generally attached right behind my seat (on the seat bar), and somehow snapped off Monday. That was the only thing that broke in the whole ordeal, and I really don’t know how it was hit. (Oh, and by the way—the way it broke made it very easy to fix, as well.) All I know is that God was keeping His eye on me!

So this Sunday, I come to share a thankful heart with you. God certainly does take care of us, and protects us—even when we can’t see the danger.

I am very thankful. But yet, as I think of it, I’m reminded of the age-old truth that says that it takes something big to direct our attention back to God. What a sad statement! How quickly we drift away from Him! How easy it is for the devil to come in and make us ungrateful of all the things the Lord has blessed us with! The lack of gratitude to the Lord for the little things of life reminds me of a powerful statement I heard recently. I can’t remember the exact wording, but it went something like this:

“The lack of strength in the church we see today is a direct result of the church disregarding the holiness of God.”

The men who were talking pointed out that if people would stop to realize for a moment how holy God is, and how His holiness affects us, modern Christianity as we know it would be completely different. People would be more on fire for the Lord.

I’m reminded of the words of Paul when he said,

“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience….” (Romans 5:3)

Today, we as modern Christians have a major problem facing us. We have forgotten how holy the Lord is. We have forgotten that He is to be praised in everything, the little things as well as the big things. Paul calls us to praise the Lord even when we are in serious trouble—not just when big miraculous things happen! The same word “glory” here is also translated as “joy” and “rejoice” in other verses.

Even when the world is collapsing around you, hang onto the lifeline—Jesus Christ, our Lord. He can turn the impossible into possible. He can get you to the side of the road, even when you feel you’re going to tip off at any second.

How the Lord has shown Himself mighty in your life lately?

~Esther

Unbelief and Forgetfulness

I’ve recently been reading though Kings and Chronicles, and while Elisha is my favorite prophet so far I think Elijah falls a close second (beside Isaiah). One story in particular hit me hard this time through—it was the story of the widow who Elijah lived with for several years during the years of famine (read the story for yourself in 1 Kings 17:17-24).

If you’ll remember, Ahab was king of Israel at this time, and because of his wickedness God sent a famine on the land of Israel. After warning Ahab of the coming famine, Elijah escaped into the desert, by the brook Cherith. He lived there until the brook dried up, at which point the Lord told him to get to Zarephath. You’ll remember how, once arriving at Zarephath, he met a widow and lived with her and her son (on miracle food!) for quite a while. Without him going there on God’s command, that widow and her son would have died—when he arrived, she was planning their last meal!

Then, after he had settled in, the widow’s son died—a tragic loss. Especially considering the fact that this son was her only son, and with him dead it meant no income for the household (or very little, anyway—and I’m not considering the fact that there was a famine going on), and no one to continue the family name or keep the family inheritance. All her hopes for a better future were dashed. And who did she blame it on? Elijah.

“What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?” (1 Kings 17:18)

One version says, “What do you have against me, man of God?” She was questioning him, almost seeming to doubt that he was there for a good reason after all. She could have been saying, “What have I done? I don’t deserve this! Have I offended your God and that’s why my son died?”

Then she continues, even more accusing: “Did you come t o remind me of my sin? Did you come to kill my son?” (paraphrasing mine) She had obviously completely forgotten the fact that if Elijah had not come, both she and her son would have been dead long since. Instead of being thankful for the Almighty’s intervention in saving her and her son, she was charging Elijah with bringing more misery down on her head.

Ah, isn’t that how we are, all too often? Forgetting the wonderful gifts God has given us in the past—those times when He stepped in at the last minute to help us, having someone give us that word of encouragement that pushed us through our day, and the many other things that He does for us each day? We are so forgetful of His goodness! And so prone to believe that yes, while He did it back then He won’t be able to come through and do it now!

Surprisingly, this time Elijah didn’t blow his top like he did other times. With gentleness, he said, “Give me your son.” Picking him up, he carried the boy to his bedroom and laid him on his bed. Then he prayed, stretched himself on the boy three times, prayed again, and the boy came back to life. Picking up the child again, he brought him down and gave him to his mother saying, “See, your son is alive!”

Then, utterly astonished, she replied, “Now at last I’m certain that you are a man of God, and what you say about the Lord is the truth.” (paraphrasing mine) It took the raising of her son from the dead to show her that. She didn’t take into account the oil and flour being there each day for the months since Elijah came! Oh, how soon do we forget what God has done for us!

Unbelief. Forgetfulness. They’re really the same things, all boiled down. One is not believing that something is possible and the other is completely forgetting that something ever happened. And both are terrible. Both are things that are warned against repeatedly in the Bible.

“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” (Hebrews 3:12)

“…so are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish….” (Job 8:13)

I thought this video fit with today’s topic. How forgetful we can be!

Now it’s your turn. What is one way God has helped you lately? How has He shown Himself mighty to you this last week? Was there a time in your life recently when you knew that something that had happened was something that only our Father can do?

Let us remember His goodness, and not forget.