Faith Through Disaster.

Life happens, but so does blessing.

God never intended for you to face a day without the hope of brightness at the end. No, there is no promise that all will go your way or that you will be rich or famous. While some promise you can get rich quick and make your body sexy by Monday, God offers no such things; but he does offer hope. Hope that you will make it through. Hope that your life is worth living. Hope that disasters can become blessings.

Recently I have been reminded of the way God's Hope works. I have a tendency to see anything that inconveniences me as a curse from God and often ask the question "WHY!" right before a curse word flies through my mind and I want to throw something at the next person I see. It is at these times that I do not want some religious lunatic telling me that there is a loving God that has it all in control. (Frankly, throwing something at the moron who is doing 35 in the 55mph zone sounds like a much better way to handle my irritation.) It is after the whole thing settles down that I sit back and think to myself... "man, that was stupid... you got that upset about... blah, blah, blah... What's wrong with you?" Now, I know what you are thinking right now; "This guys is a Pastor and he does that too?!" Yes, it is a normal instinct to get ticked off from time to time and later regret it or realize how foolish it was.

The important thing for us at that point in time is that we stop are think about things and purpose in our heart to let our Faith take control the next time we begin to act and think selfishly. It may seem like a disaster at the time, or at least a major inconvenience, but you don't know what God is planning at that moment; you are not the only person alive and God may be working some divine intervention at that moment. The person 2 cars in front of your 3 cars behind you may have been killed in a fatal accident if God hadn't put the 83 year old grandma in the front of the pack to slow them down. Maybe it is you who is spared a fatal accident.

The point is this: disasters will come to your life; how will you handle them? God gives us great insight in scripture of how to listen to His way of working, and follow his warnings before we later regret it. Noah is a great example of this. Think about it, Noah was an old man when God told him to build the ark; the last thing this old guy wanted to do is build a boat miles from water to be made fun of and thought of as the town idiot... but he did it! Why? Because long before he was asked to build a boat he had placed his faith in God and purpose in his heart that God was a better choice to follow than his own selfish desires and ambitions.

For more on this topic watch this sermon from the "Hall of Faith" series. If it blesses you, share it with a friend.

Race Day.

At my house one of the best days of the year is when we participate in a local Grand Prix Derby. It is the same thing as the Pinewood Derby in Cub Scouts. It is held at a local church and other churches are invited. The race is help in the early spring/late winter and has about 35-40 cars that race. According to some I get a little carried away with this whole event.

To avoid the cold of winter I begin for the next years race just after the previous race and start planning for next years car. Over and over again I mentally shape and prepare to make the first cuts to the plain block of wood. Plans were put on paper and the building process began.

Over the next few weeks the block of wood began to take shape and an image of a car came out. After the wood was cut and sanded it came time to paint, the put the final workings into making it resemble what I had wanted it to be. In the midst of all of this I began to gain a basic divine truth that is sometimes forgotten.

We are just like that block of wood in the hands of God. In the beginning of all time he looked down, picked up a block of wood and mentally planned each move and mark to place in our life. After His vision of us was complete and began to mold, cut, carve, and sand us into what he had planned. At the end he picked up the rattle can and sprayed us down to bare a resemblance to his image and his likeness. Then, as an act of love that only a parent can give, He placed us on the track and gave us free-will.

No matter how much someone prepares to make the car fast or aerodynamic, once it is on the track it is out of the control of the designer. When God gave us life he was taking his prize creation and setting it in motion. Now, he is along side the track seeing us execute freewill in life. He had a vision and a plan for us and we must now focus on Him to see a plan that was made for us from the beginning.