As we wrap up the week….
It’s just so very strange to move through the motions of switching seasons, enjoying one of the most incredible runs of beautifully perfect September weather I can remember in a long time here in the Midwest and know the devastation so many are dealing with.
Even as large numbers of people make a mass exodus from Florida, we hear reports of many supplies and convoys heading to Texas with much needed help for those who have lost their homes.
Our beautiful Pacific Northwest is engulfed in flames, while families make their way through the rubble of their island homes in the Caribbean.
I cannot imagine being in any one of these situations and my heart goes out to those who are making their way through.
Besides the havoc from storms and fires, several posts from church friends in the last few days have expressed sorrows over losses.
And then there are the private grieving’s that many are dealing with.
We can become so overwhelmed with empathy and compassion that we actually find it necessary to shut down…look the other way…every man for himself….and other such thinking.
This is where the heart becomes tempted to grow cold and hard.
God has warned us through His Word that when hard things come on with greater intensity and frequency, it will be tempting to become lovers of ourselves.
In an effort to self-preserve, we will cease to persevere.
But we are not powerless to help those in need.
Prayer is powerful as we ask God to intervene in settings and circumstances…anywhere from a personal matter, to the broken heart of a loved one, to the diverting of a storm and a calming of the winds.
Financial help and physical help is also a way we show God’s love to those in need.
There are so many trustworthy organizations that are able to provide for the needs of people displaced by the storm.
Local churches and individuals are sending help, as well as national ministries like the Red Cross and Samaritan’s Purse.
As we watch the news and read the paper, let’s do it with pleas raised to God to show mercy for those who are in danger and eyes to see where we can share what we have with others.
For as the heavens are high above the earth…
so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him…
as far as the east is from the west…so far has He removed our sins from us…
as a loving father looks with compassion on his own children…
so does the LORD take to heart those who fear Him…
for He knows how we are made…has He not made us?…
He remembers we are but frail humans…
but He calls us His beloved.
We pass through this world…but He is eternal…
And we, who are in Christ, are eternally with Him.
Based on Psalm 103