Practical Preparedness

You want to know how amazing God is? I woke up yesterday morning and during my devotional time this particular scripture stood out, "The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? I thought to myself that I could just keep reading but something encouraged me to pick this scripture apart and look at it more closely. I began to meditate on it and soon I recalled a memory: [The catastrophic collapse of the San José copper-gold mine in Chile occurred on August 5, 2010, trapping 33 miners approximately 2,300 feet (700 meters) underground. The workers were stranded for exactly 69 days before being safely rescued on October 13, 2010.For the first 17 days, the miners were entirely cut off from the surface with unknown fates until a drill broke through and a note was discovered confirming they had survived in an emergency shelter. An international rescue operation was then launched, leading to their eventual extraction.]

Can you even imagine being trapped deep inside the earth for 69 days! Seventeen of which you had no hope of even knowing that someone knew you were there, if they were coming to rescue or if you were just going to be buried alive! It's said that the faith of a few men kept them hoping. 

Even when buried in darkness whether physically, emotionally or mentally We always have a hope as Christians. The Lord is our light and our salvation - whom shall I fear? Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39). The word of God, which is Christ himself is our light and our hope. 

The level of despair and the unknown of whether the rescue of these workers would cause a collapse or even be successful must have been a level of stress and anxiety that few of us know. Two men stood out as leaders and encouragers [1. Luis Urzúa (The Organizational Leader)His Role: As the shift foreman, Luis Urzúa is widely credited with saving the men's lives by keeping them unified and organized.How He Encouraged Them: During the first 17 days when the world thought they were dead, he used a strict democratic voting system to maintain order. He rationed their tiny two-day supply of food so it lasted over two weeks, mapped out the tunnels for structure, and kept the men focused on survival rather than panic.The Ultimate Captain: True to his leadership role, he was the 33rd and final miner to be rescued from the depths.2. José Henríquez (The Spiritual Encourager)His Role: Nicknamed "The Pastor," Henríquez was a drill master and evangelical preacher who became the emotional and spiritual anchor for the group.How He Encouraged Them: He kept morale high by leading the men in prayer twice every day. He used his deep faith to counsel the miners through crushing anxiety and fear, reminding them to hold onto hope when everything seemed impossible.]

The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? A stronghold is a highly defended, secure place of refuge, protection, or safety. In the scariest most unpredictable places, we are called to believe in God's word. No matter what the outcome, he is with us through it all. He is surrounding us, and under his wing we have refuge. 

What happened to me next was nothing compared to what these minors went through but it gave me an insight into this scripture. During my devotional in the morning the winds were kicking up and becoming extremely strong. Soon they became violent and You could feel the whole house shaking and branches flying off of trees and hitting the house. It was relentless and it wouldn't give up. Soon it was ripping huge trees out by the roots and they were falling in our yard. Two of the trees took down the electrical wires by the road. We called the electric company but it was going to be a long time before anyone came. We had no electricity and it was dusk so we scrambled for our emergency supplies, batteries and set up some emergency lighting around the house. We called a friend of ours who literally got in his truck during the storm and came over and helped us get the generator started.

On a much smaller level the Lord was our light and salvation last night. I kept my eyes on him and not the storm as I trusted him and he in turn gave me peace. I looked at my home as The stronghold of the Lord. A highly defended secure place of refuge, protection and safety. I didn't trust in the structure but I trusted that God's mighty wing was over us.

I encourage everyone of you to know the word of God. Spend time reading it and memorizing it. Write it down and post it around your house. Because when things get scary It usually comes upon us fast and furiously. During earthquakes which I am fully experienced in because I lived in California for years. You realize there is nothing that is secure when you're going through one. All you have is God. What used to be solid, stable and reliable suddenly looks fluid. Just like drowning, your hands just go through the water and there's nothing to stabilize you. God's word is solid, it is the light in our darkness, it is our salvation, our stronghold and our hope. Please don't wait until something fearful and unstable happens in your life. Store up the treasures of God in your heart and in your mind now. So that when you fall it will be into his arms and you will know that you can survive it because of his grace, mercy and love. His word, his promises, his character and attributes will be pillars that will hold you up when you feel like crumbling. 

Isaiah 43:2, ""When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you."

Insight: Our enemy the devil knows that he cannot convince people that there is no God because it's very clear in Romans chapter 1 that God has given evidence all around us of his existence and that no man has any excuse to not believe. So the enemies tactic is to convince us that there's no hurry. To put off reading the Bible, to not store up God's powerful promises and proclamations in our hearts and minds.... Do not be fooled!

Draw near to God now and he will draw near to you. James 4:8.

Prisms through Tears

I may have written about this before but it's worth repeating. We were on vacation in Mammoth California one time and we were all excited to go hiking the next day. However, we woke up to a rainy day. Just like rain can keep you from the majesty of heightened senses by keeping you indoors. Tears can blind us from God's blessings and joy when we withdraw.

We made a decision that morning to venture out anyway. It ended up being the most spectacular day! The rain had made the rocks shine with all the colors in them. You know when you take a regular rock and it just looks dry and kind of ugly but then you put water on it and you can see it's glory. It's the same thing on our days of tears. We can stay hidden in our sorrow but if we choose to see God in our situation it's the same as when the rain falls upon the rocks. The rain makes the dry earth look like a rich myriad of browns against the soaked leaves that are now glittering from the raindrops. The rocks reveal all the hidden colors in them and the smell of the rain in our senses makes everything seem alive. We can have that same experience when we look through our tears.

What we experienced that day was magnificent. We made a choice to see past the rain. We looked beyond what we thought was a hindrance. Just like when we feel down or depressed we can make a choice. We can focus on our sorrow or we can focus on the anointing from God through our tears. Through our tears God's promises and blessings become more clear and alive.  We are choosing where we are going to put our focus. A day that can seem dull and dark can become vibrant if we focus on God. In that stillness, if we seek him in it,  he will reveal the hidden blessings, no matter what our circumstances are. 

In our busyness when we feel energetic we can bypass the beautiful things that God bestows on us. The deeper things are revealed through tears. The deeper beauty and richness of his love for us is clearer. By choosing to focus on God in those times it enables us to see his comfort, his kind and gentle presence, his ability to bring beauty out of ashes...

I recently realized that I never really knew how to rest. I only knew fight or flight and that kept me in a constant wired state in my nervous system. I just came through a dark time and I sought God which enabled me to see his light, his love and his comfort. I allowed those insights to teach me how to be strengthened in my faith and to truly learn how to rest in him. I learned how to be kind to my parasympathetic nervous system. I actually learned how to see myself like God sees me. Through a lens of kindness and gentleness. We so often allow shame and guilt to rob us of the blessing of rest. This time though, I embraced that beautiful insight from God and just like the rain brought out all the colors of nature, he revealed his beautiful character in my life. I rebuked negative thinking and negative words and begin to speak his powerful words over me. I knew scripture very well but he showed me that there's a difference between having it in your head and allowing him to make it come alive in your heart. 

I encourage you to see your tears as rain. Let them open up prisms of God's light. As he lets his light shine through your tears you will be able to see colors and depths of his character and love that you would never be able to see in the absence of tears. Allow him to reveal to you the beauty that is hidden in our sorrows. The most incredible gift from God is to be able to praise him not just on the sunny days but also on the tearful days. 

He knows sorrow and suffering on a level that we will never understand. But what comfort it brings when we are in that state knowing with full assurance that the man of sorrows sits with us to comfort us.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God". 2 Corinthians 1:3-4