God's Ways Are Not Our Ways

Did you know that our Sun is almost 93 million miles away from Earth? The ex-planet Pluto (it still stings to write that) is over 2.7 billion miles from planet Earth. Science informs us that there are undiscovered planets, galaxies and wonders beyond our knowledge at this present time. So the reason for this very short sidebar into space and distance is because of its relevance to one of my favorite verses in the Bible.

"Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55: 6-9 ESV)

"It" Is Coming

What is this "it"? When is "it" coming? Is there anyway I can avoid "it"? These are all questions that we all ponder at different seasons of our life, but mostly when our lives are turned upside down. 

When the normalcy of our life ceases to exist, we can choose to either fill that vacuum with what God intended, Himself, or we can continue to give everything else a priority over Him. Therefore the "it" can be a doctor's diagnosis, or an accident, the loss of a friendship. 

"It" can be the loss of a job or financial status. A common thread is that "it" is usually something that we either value or depend upon more than our relationship with God. And let's be clear, God allows suffering so that our lives will be saved, not to drive us into despair without hope. He is our hope, He is our King, and He refuses to share His throne with anyone or anything else.

Thanksgiving Day Parade

The Widow and the General

You may remember that I wrote about the prophet Elisha a few weeks ago, telling the story about the widow who was persistent in seeking God's provision in her time of great need. (You can read it here) Today I want to write about an encounter that involved Elisha the prophet and the commanding general of  the armies of Syria.

The widow and the general could not have been more different. The widow was totally destitute after the death of her husband and was facing the loss of her children due to not being able to pay her debts. We never learn her name in the scriptures. Naaman, the general, was in charge of all of the armies of Syria, a mighty man of valor and courage. His resources were almost unlimited, the widow had none. Naaman had direct access to the King of Syria, the widow had no such connections. But what Naaman was about to realize is that he was about to face a situation beyond the reach of all of his power, connections and resources. Naaman had developed leprosy.