“The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.” Proverbs 17:3
“Wow!!!! Look at THAT!” Driving down to the beach to see how it fared after Hurricane Ian, that sentence was on auto-play, as each street proved the event more powerful than man. Whole streets were lined with debris stacked taller than me! The scene did not help my cloudy mood, as a sense of dreadful helplessness filled my soul. That is, until this morning! Today? I’m feeling Son-ee!
Katie was the one who wanted to go to the beach. The scene at the beach before dusk is USUALLY spectacular! After all, it’s hard to beat a good sunset on the Gulf of Mexico! I know she was looking for a spark, a ray of hope among the litter. When we got to the beach, a bunch of yoga folks lay on the sand under a gray sky listening to machine produced tones! I humphed, we left!
Being human, I can appreciate all things human. We all get down, sad, blue and discouraged because ‘Stuff Happens!’ When it does, I want fixed. I want peace. I seek a permanent, solid rock to stand on. I’m smart enough to know that drowning my blues in a sea of self-manufactured peace is both temporary and stupid! Looking at God’s creation, they still refused to see! We didn’t!
Bad theology irritates me. There are folks who believe that God causes calamity, and those folks point to this verse to prove it! I know better. In a world created by man’s sin, God doesn’t need to cause a stir. Death and destruction are a natural part of the terrain! But God can, and does, USE calamities to shake my self made world of security. I won’t search for a rock until I’m sinking!
Metallurgists have tests to determine how strong a metal is. That process always starts with putting the metal under stress… until it fails! And failure is not an option! The stress will continue until it the metal breaks. I’ve discovered that God’s habit is to hang out in calamity because, it is when men break, that they truly may seek the strength and security only He can provide!
When the metallurgist puts the metal under stress, he watches it closely. This morning, I realized that process is a 2 way street! God always watches me to see if I’m am looking for Him! Only when our eyes meet can I recognize His Mercy and Grace, and His Love for me. Nothing can actually happen until I recognize that HE is God and I am not! Looking at His Son Jesus is better than any sunset!
What are YOU looking at?
