The Lord is righteous in all His ways and gracious in all His acts.The Lord is near all who call out to Him, all who call out to Him with integrity. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him;
He hears their cry for help and saves them.
Psalm 145:17-19
It always seems to happen, and it always seems to happen at the worst possible moment. Maybe you finally get a new car with the insurance money from your last disaster and the ground drops out from under you. Literally.
That's one of a few stories I can think of behind this photo of a car straddling a sinkhole with a huge question mark implied....Will the car be rescued or will it fall into the gaping, and probably slowly expanding, sinkhole below it? You're going along minding your own business, taking care of responsibilities, enjoying the benefits of a good life lives right when without warning a sinkhole materializes underneath you.
For the children of Israel it happened after being set free. They endured 400 years of slavery, and God finally freed them from Pharaoh. But before they even had a chance to become the screw ups we know and love as our Old Testament bad examples they found themselves facing the sea on one side and Pharaoh's army on the other. Did God bring us to freedom just to watch die horribly? That's the question they asked themselves.
I've asked the same question. Maybe you have. God did You deliver me just so this disaster could claim me instead of that one? Did You bless me and give me so much joy and hope just to take it away? Why did I get the blessing, the joy, the whatever I was so happy about 5 minutes ago just watch it fall apart or be put into jeopardy as my stomach twists and I fall soul first into the pit.
Sometimes these things happen, the sinkhole appears, because we drive or park on muddy, slippery ground. I'm not saying that we did anything wrong. In fact we may have been trying to do something right. But in the process we made ourselves vulnerable, we gave the enemy an opening to destroy something God had blessed us with. My last such sinkhole came when I attempted to help a recovery center raising funds. The vulnerable place I put myself in while trying to help a cause dear to my heart cost me a job I did well at and had hopes for advancement. It could have cost much more had God not parted that particular sea and denied the enemy the permission to destroy the ministry that I've been called to. I can see the deliverance and grace of God and the protection of the just all over that situation, but that said, I had looked for a job for a long period and had finally been given a chance with the one I had on the day the sinkhole appeared. I did it well, and my employer was pleased. I had been promised a raise and was learning to do the tasks that the supervisor handles. I finally felt like the past was falling behind and a future was possible. Sinkhole.
It took me three months to find work, and I am grateful for the work that I have. I have a great boss who is truly a man of God. He is very understanding of family first and is liberal with leave. He has been quick and careful to make sure that I am able to take care of ministry first. It's a blessing. That said, it's not the desire of my heart, and there's a piece of me that can still feel that sinkhole falling and sees all the potential pits. It sometimes feels hopeless, like whatever direction I try to go in, the pits of the past are waiting.
Or maybe it feels more like the man I know whose sinkhole is threatening more than employment and ministry. He endured and overcame cancer. God healed him, but now, it appears to be coming back. Cancer that goes into remission and then returns is often harder to beat than ever. Sinkhole. Let's be honest, we may say we'll be happy with whatever extra time we get, but when we pray for healing of cancer, we're not asking for a couple of years. We want our lives back.
Those old things coming back. We've taken responsibility for our part, whatever it is. We've done our best to clean up our part of the mess. We've tried to clean, handle and respond to the wreckage as God would have us, in the right way, according to the Spiritual principles we believe in. We've done all we're supposed to do, and then sinkhole. Sinkholes cause drops that leave us dizzy, confused, frightened and scared. We may not see any way out depending on how hard, fast and far we fall. But above every sinkhole there is a God who has the power to make the earth conform to His commands.
When He begins to bless us and move us toward that Promised Land, the enemy, the old slave master, is going to pursue. There will be obstacles and sinkholes, because what is in opposition to God is also in opposition to our being blessed of God. But we have this promise. The Lord is near all who call out to Him, all who call out to Him with integrity. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry for help and saves them.
For the children of Israel it happened after being set free. They endured 400 years of slavery, and God finally freed them from Pharaoh. But before they even had a chance to become the screw ups we know and love as our Old Testament bad examples they found themselves facing the sea on one side and Pharaoh's army on the other. Did God bring us to freedom just to watch die horribly? That's the question they asked themselves.
I've asked the same question. Maybe you have. God did You deliver me just so this disaster could claim me instead of that one? Did You bless me and give me so much joy and hope just to take it away? Why did I get the blessing, the joy, the whatever I was so happy about 5 minutes ago just watch it fall apart or be put into jeopardy as my stomach twists and I fall soul first into the pit.
Sometimes these things happen, the sinkhole appears, because we drive or park on muddy, slippery ground. I'm not saying that we did anything wrong. In fact we may have been trying to do something right. But in the process we made ourselves vulnerable, we gave the enemy an opening to destroy something God had blessed us with. My last such sinkhole came when I attempted to help a recovery center raising funds. The vulnerable place I put myself in while trying to help a cause dear to my heart cost me a job I did well at and had hopes for advancement. It could have cost much more had God not parted that particular sea and denied the enemy the permission to destroy the ministry that I've been called to. I can see the deliverance and grace of God and the protection of the just all over that situation, but that said, I had looked for a job for a long period and had finally been given a chance with the one I had on the day the sinkhole appeared. I did it well, and my employer was pleased. I had been promised a raise and was learning to do the tasks that the supervisor handles. I finally felt like the past was falling behind and a future was possible. Sinkhole.
It took me three months to find work, and I am grateful for the work that I have. I have a great boss who is truly a man of God. He is very understanding of family first and is liberal with leave. He has been quick and careful to make sure that I am able to take care of ministry first. It's a blessing. That said, it's not the desire of my heart, and there's a piece of me that can still feel that sinkhole falling and sees all the potential pits. It sometimes feels hopeless, like whatever direction I try to go in, the pits of the past are waiting.
Or maybe it feels more like the man I know whose sinkhole is threatening more than employment and ministry. He endured and overcame cancer. God healed him, but now, it appears to be coming back. Cancer that goes into remission and then returns is often harder to beat than ever. Sinkhole. Let's be honest, we may say we'll be happy with whatever extra time we get, but when we pray for healing of cancer, we're not asking for a couple of years. We want our lives back.
Those old things coming back. We've taken responsibility for our part, whatever it is. We've done our best to clean up our part of the mess. We've tried to clean, handle and respond to the wreckage as God would have us, in the right way, according to the Spiritual principles we believe in. We've done all we're supposed to do, and then sinkhole. Sinkholes cause drops that leave us dizzy, confused, frightened and scared. We may not see any way out depending on how hard, fast and far we fall. But above every sinkhole there is a God who has the power to make the earth conform to His commands.
When He begins to bless us and move us toward that Promised Land, the enemy, the old slave master, is going to pursue. There will be obstacles and sinkholes, because what is in opposition to God is also in opposition to our being blessed of God. But we have this promise. The Lord is near all who call out to Him, all who call out to Him with integrity. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry for help and saves them.
When the sinkhole appears, call out to Him and trust that He will hear. He will save us first, and as we walk with Him, He will give us the desires of our heart. It's been a year since my sinkhole, and the Promised Land is still on the horizon rather than where I dwell, but it's coming. Maybe your sinkhole happened long ago and it feels like the land will never be restored, or maybe the ground just dropped this morning. I don't know. I do know that God is faithful and mighty. That the Promised Land is better than Egypt and worth the time in the desert. I know Job lost it all before he got it all back. Today let us let go of the past with its pits and the fear of the falls in the future and push on towards the blessings and promises God has placed on the horizons of our heart. We can trust Him. The sinkholes will not destroy us or rob us of the treasures God has given us. The past does not determine our future. God does.
I found the image used as the illustration in several places on the web, but never saw the credit for the photographer. It is not my intention to use the photo without giving credit. If anyone can tell me who took this photo, I will give proper credit.
I found the image used as the illustration in several places on the web, but never saw the credit for the photographer. It is not my intention to use the photo without giving credit. If anyone can tell me who took this photo, I will give proper credit.
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