Saturday, 2019-09-21

Bible Reference: Luke 24:25-27
Translation: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

Bible Text: ²⁵ Then Jesus said to the two men, “You are foolish and slow to realize what is true. You should believe everything the prophets said. ²⁶ The prophets said the Messiah must suffer these things before he begins his time of glory.” ²⁷ Then he began to explain everything that had been written about himself in the Scriptures. He started with the books of Moses and then he talked about what the prophets had said about him.

OBSERVATION: As I read these verses this morning, I believe that the Holy Spirit prompted me to prepare a response to Jesus, should He question why I am so downhearted over the destruction in Florida a year ago, and the more recent disaster in the Bahamas, because of hurricanes. I believe the natural response would be to question ‘Why, Lord?’. But I believe God is teaching us here that we should run to the Word of God and see what else is on the way for us. Meditate with me as we contemplate what the Word of God teaches us about everyday occurrences.

APPLICATION: As hurricane Dorian plundered around out in the Caribbean, I believe that most of us thought of it as having a motor and/or steering mechanism that would move it in a certain direction, and at chosen speeds. But I believe that God opened the eyes of this 65 year old, and finally showed me that this ‘bundle of wind’ is something moved around by the steering wind currents at the time. For just a quick moment, my mind wondered to question: then who controls the wind currents? Silly me, of course it is God who controls our wind currents, therefore God who steers the hurricanes. So the question remains: then why would God choose to steer the disastrous winds of a hurricane into the path of His people? Friends, the mystery of God is unknown to mankind, otherwise we might consider ourselves ‘God’. Think about this: In spite of what you may feel about why on earth was your challenging neighbor ever created, yet God, in His wisdom, not only created him/her, but also arranged that you two would wind up as neighbors! In spite of me being born in Long Island, Bahamas, brought up on the island of Eleuthera, and worked across several islands in the Bahamas, yet in 1987 God opened the doors for my wife and I to move to the United States of America. This, opened the doors to: 1) The adoption of our prized daughter; 2) My dad and sister-in-law being given another chance at life because of the medical professionals here; 3) My awesome job, that I am about to retire from, after 32 years; 4) Three wonderful churches that loved on us and allowed us to serve our Lord with them over our 32 years here; etc, etc. So would you remind me again why we should ever question God? Although my dad dreaded the idea of his oldest son leaving him in his old age, and move across the waters to another country, yet within 6 months of being in the US, and after he had received a stint in one of the vessels to his heart, he said to me ‘Now I can see what God was doing’. My dear friends, we need not question God, for He alone is God and His ways are far greater than our ways and above anything we could ever comprehend or imagine. Let me encourage you to saturate yourself with the Word of God. Meditate on it and allow it to fill your mind with the mind of Christ. Let it steer your thoughts, your decisions and your path, so that you will wind up in a place where God wants you, and not where you’ve always want to go. Depend on God to lead you and help you to understand His ways enough to be a blessing to someone else. People need the Lord, and it’s only when they look at you and see ‘Jesus’, that they might truly believe that He lives, because they could see Him living in you. It’s not about us friends, or about our material belongings. It’s about God, His Kingdom, and us being used by God to help win the lost from eternal death. Oh that we may praise God each and every day as we draw closer and closer to seeing Him face to face!

PRAYER: Lord, I feel like I may have gone off track from the referenced Scripture, but I pray that I could one day say like my dad did: ‘Now I could see what God was up to’! Lord, these devotionals are a testimony of Your wonderful grace and how You express Your unconditional love towards me in so many awesome ways. May others experience Jesus as they read these, and may they make decisions to draw close to You in their temporary walk here on earth, so that You may be glorified in all aspects of their life. AMEN!