I was getting into my car when the glint caught my eye: a nail, embedded in my rear tire’s sidewall. I listened for the telltale whistle of air. Thankfully, the hole was plugged—at least for the moment.
As I drove to a tire store, I wondered: How long has that nail been there? Days? Weeks? How long have I been protected from a threat I didn’t even know existed?
We can sometimes live under the illusion that we’re in control. But that nail reminded me we’re not.
But when life feels out of control and unstable, we have a God whose reliability we can trust. In Psalm 18, David praises God for watching over him (vv. 34–35). David confesses, “It is God who arms me with strength. . . . You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way” (vv. 32, 36). In this poem of praise, David celebrates God’s sustaining presence (v. 35).
I personally don’t march into combat like David; I even go out of my way not to take unnecessary risks. Still, my life is often chaotic.
But I can rest in the knowledge that, though God doesn’t promise us protection from all of life’s difficulties, He always knows where I am. He knows where I’m going and what I’ll encounter. And He’s the Lord of it all—even the “nails” of our lives.
When has God protected you from something that you didn’t even know about? How did He watch over your way or help you stay clear of that threat? - Our Daily Bread for today, December 17th, 2019
It's rather interesting how this, from ODB, actually ties in with Revelation.
Revelation? The book on the end times? The book with all the judgments to come in it? Yes, you understood it correctly. That book.
Why that book?
Why? Because in the here and now, you, my dear reader have a choice in how you live and perceive your life.
You can take what's to come seriously or you can choose not to. Life is all about choice. Israel has a long track record of bad choices. Mankind as a whole has a long history of bad choices. Jesus became a man to seek and save you and I. To show us how to live. To show us how to make right choices. To light the way.
We are oh so often protected from disasters we will never know of this side of Heaven, if you are a Christian that is. There is a big chance even unbelievers will be shown their missed opportunities to have been saved.
God had John write Revelation to warn a dying world that there's a limited amount of time before you will no longer have a choice.
What kind of life will you live today knowing that today may be all you have?
For many that's a reality. But we as believers as well as the unbelieving are on borrowed time. We are not promised a tomorrow.
Make the most of today while it's still today. I am very aware that what bad things that have happened in my life could have been a good deal worse if even one detail had been different. There's also the fact that our supposed bad day made someone else's day that much more tolerable.
Jesus came to give and to serve. He took on the bad days of everyone He met. He still does. With you and I.
Think about that today. There's nails in the tires of our lives. It's a matter of time before we notice and need to cry out for His help.
Pray for your eyes to see what He sees in you and in others.
No comments:
Post a Comment