Do you ever just get filled with a deep dread? You just get plain scared? You suddenly realize deep in your soul that “it could have been me?” We as Christians know that God is with us always, but still sometimes we just get frightened. It could be because of something we’ve done, it could be because of a new unknown season in life that’s looming up in front of us, or it could be because suddenly our eyes are opened wide to “what could have been.”
Last night here in the area where we live we were suddenly hit with tornadoes – very unusual for this time of year. The sirens started going off, and since our son was in town the three of us holed up in our pantry for about 1/2 hour, as one tornado was headed in our direction, and fast.
Yes those things can be kind of scary, but I had a peace – I knew we were doing everything we could at the moment, and that there was nothing else we could do but pray. As we continued to watch the local news on and off during the evening we saw some real devastation very close to where our house was.
“Thank you, Lord, for keeping us safe.”
Then this morning at church our worship pastor started the service with a testimony of how thankful he was to “see” us today. He then shared a note from our senior pastor who was traveling back home from out of town, relating to us the relief efforts which were underway for those in our congregation who had been affected by the storms. He ended by again emphasizing how really thankful he was to “see” us, and then told us why…
He told us that the previous evening he and his young family were safe at home riding out the storms, all the while trying to stay in touch with friends and church members who lived in the hardest hit areas. He related that storms had never really bothered him. However all of a sudden he received a text from a friend who stated that the house where our pastor and his family had previously lived just a couple years ago had been flattened by one of the tornadoes. There was nothing left. As a matter of fact the whole cul-de-sac had been destroyed!
Our pastor said a feeling of dread suddenly hit him. That could have been him and his family!
As soon as he could, he drove to their old neighborhood a short distance away, and indeed, everything had been demolished… As others began to show up the group went into overdrive – rescuing people from wreckage’s, and helping out however they could. Through it all our pastor was filled again with a new awareness of what could have been…
God tells us in Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV):
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
You see we never will really know when our time is going to be up on this earth. Yesterday my husband, son and myself were out driving right close to where some of the major devastation had occurred yesterday – what if the tornadoes had acted up hours earlier than they had? Yet the Lord spared us.
I guess the major emphasis of this writing today is that we need to be ready. We need to be ready to meet the Lord, because we just don’t know when our last day on this earth will arrive. My husband just related to me that there’s been at least 10 deaths confirmed so far from yesterday. Were those that died ready to meet God face-to-face? Or did they think they still had plenty of time to turn their lives around?
Don’t wait, my friends. Turn to Jesus today and submit your lives to Him. He’s waiting for you…
The God Of All Comfort 