Praise the Lord! The power is back on!
I wanted to share
a few things with all of you about my experience this week. If you did
not hear, a powerful wind storm blew through the NW on Thursday night
and left 1.5 million people without power. Me of course being one of
them.
My first thoughts were that I get to do some of the survival training
that we skipped at AIM training this summer. But I didn’t do so well on
the preparation part. The problem was that I did not take the threat
very seriously. I figured the lights would go out and maybe be out for
a few hours or a day, but I never considered the real danger and
potential complications. I didn’t even plan for the most basic
provisions like water or even locating the flashlights ahead of time.
Instead, I woke at 1am and had to stumble around in the dark trying to
find them on a shelf in the laundry room where I remembered leaving
them.
This brings to mind two realities. First, how seriously do we take the
threats of the enemy? The Bible tells us that we have the power to
defeat him, but are we prepared for the battle? God doesn’t just hand
him over to us with no effort on our part. What God has done, is give
us fair warning of the enemy’s presence and tactics, and He offers us
the weapons and training to be succesful in battle against him. But we
still have to choose to take up those weapons, and we have to make the
effort to learn how to use them.
So, how prepared are we? Do we have our armor on? Do we carry the sword
and do we know how to wield it? Have we, and do we regularly prepare
mentally and spiritually, through study and prayer, for the battle?
I know that when I make a close examination of myself from this
perspective, I have to say that I have not taken the threat seriously
enough, and I am not as prepared as I should be. It is time to get
serious, and ask God to show me the reality of what I am standing
against.
My second thought was that when we realize we have failed to prepare,
and are stumbling in the dark to find our way, we need to return to
what we last remember. Just as I returned to the laundry room where I
remembered leaving the flashlight, we need to return to the place where
we last remember leaving God. This in not a physical place, but a place
in our heart – the attitude of repentance and dependance that leads us
back to the power of God.
I want to relay the message our youth pastor shared in church this
morning. With 2/3 of the congregation still being without power at the
time, it was very poignant.
His sermon illustrated how our lives on earth are very much like a
power outage. In the past few days, we all felt the effects of cold and
darkness when power was cut off by high winds. But amidst that
darkness, we also experienced brief moments of light as we were able to
find flashlights or run a generator. But eventually, the batteries died
and the generators ran out of gas and we plummeted back into cold,
darkness. But for those brief moments when the lights were on, we were
drawn to it like moths to a flame. It made us feel safer somehow. And
as we congregated around lights or huddled near a fire, we had
fellowship and felt closer to those around us. As the power was
restored to some locations, houses immediately blazed with Christmas
lights like a billboard shouting, even bragging – I HAVE POWER!. There
was an excitement because it was “permanent”.
Our lives on this earth are filled with darkness that is sprinkled with
moments of God’s amazing light and power. We experience that same
closeness when we are with our Christian friends and family. At times
we feel the warmth of God’s love, but moments later we may experience
extreme spiritual darkness and the bitter cold reality of sin. In this
world, God’s power and light come in passing glimpses. He is always
here, but we don’t always see Him or feel Him. Only when this life
passes, will those who have claimed Him as God and Father, spend
eternity in the presence of His permanent and infinite power.
There is one more point to make. Jesus tells us to come as little
children. What do children naturally do when there is a known threat?
Last thursday, before the storm came, the pastor sat down and warned
his children that the power might go out and it could get dark. He went
around the house and lit candles in every room so that they would not
be in complete darkness no matter where they were. He also gave them
instructions that if the lights did go out, they were to stay right
where they were and he would come to them.
God has done the same for us. He warned us about the powers of darkness
at work in this world, and He has made His light available to everyone
– in small flickers – so that we are never in complete darkness. More
than that, He promises to come to us, wherever we are, if we call out
to Him.
But even that assurance from their father was not enough for these
young children. They wanted the comfort and security that came only
from being in the presense of their father. They followed him step by
step all night long, refusing to leave his side.
What would my life look like if I did the same? If I never ventured out – alone – into the dark?
What if we all got that excited about the unlimited source of power
that we have in Christ, and put it on display for our neighbors and
said “Look what I have. Would like me to share it with you?”
Although I am very, very greatful for me restored heat and light, I
also am thankful for the perspective I gained in the past few days. It
showed me how dependant we are on electricity. I thought of my Kenyan
friends, and imagined how they would laugh if I told them I had no way
of cooking food at home. Power for them is so unreliable, and sort of
secondary. They still cook with little charcoal stoves, and don’t
really have appliaces to run. They have no refrigeration, so they
probably wouldn’t understand how all of our food would spoil. It was
kind of amusing to me actually.
I found it almost fitting that as I prepare to go off into the mission
field, I went to my last day of work without a shower, and attended my
commissioning service in the same condition. It was also a good
reminder of the importace of community as I sat and ate hot soup that
was prepared by church members for those of us that were still without
power.
I love God’s sense of humor. He definately knows how to get a message
across, in a memorable way. He know exactly how to speak to my heart.
