Dad…can you turn down the Thunder?

Last night we went to bed about 11:00 because there were some thunderstorms coming in. This is the joy of living in the Illinois area, and I am using the word joy somewhat sarcastically. Growing up in El Paso, Texas storms were few and far between, but now they are a routine of the spring season. Here came the joy of my night as my two boys would wake up and say to my wife and me, the thunder is to loud.

With faces like theirs it is so hard to get upset, but with sleep deprivation and a their persistent desire to have us quite the thunder, we got a little frustrated. As my wife put my youngest son back to bed he quietly said, “Nobody cares about the fact that I am scared.” When he uttered that phrase I realized in his mind he felt that nobody cared, even though the previous hours of my wife’s concern was not sufficient evidence to him that he was very cared for.

How often we are like this in our walk with Christ. Jesus walks with us through those times of trouble and we look back and say during that one time that the Lord says okay I am going to allow you to bear a little more of this load by yourself. We immediately chime in and say, “Don’t you care about me?” The truth is that of course he does, but would like us to learn to grow a little.

My Son was overwhelmed like we are sometimes and all he wanted was his mothers loving touch. Sometimes we feel like God is far away, but he is always there. He is there to calm the storm as he did in the life of Peter as he walked on the water in the midst of a storm. There is nothing I can do to turn down the thunder son, but I can help you talk to the God that controls the Thunder.

Man...those Hilltops and Valleys

Sometimes in life there are hilltops and valleys. Yesterday I had an opportunity to preach a message from Hebrews 10. God gave this message to me when I lead my youngest son to the Lord just two Saturdays ago and I had an opportunity to see how exciting it is the day somebody trusts in Christ as Saviour. Then it made me think, why do we lose that excitement.

As I was reading through Hebrews 10, I realized that Verse 23 says "Let us hold fast to the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)" as I read that I realized the reason that newness leaves, the reason why the excitement dies down is because we forget to remember. I started to remember the day I was saved and how excited I was about everything God had for me, but then after years of service I began to slip into a state of familiarity and routine.

When we allow God to fall into a state of familiarity and routine we do a true injustice to him. We forgot the supernatural qualities he has. We lose the reality of who the Saviour really is, and slowly we drift into a state of lull ness. I realized that day and preached to our Church that we need to get to a place of where God is new every day. How wonderful it is to wake up each morning and see the Grace of God in our lives and how exciting it is to find his joy every single day. What a great day of preaching and what a great reception was given by the Church. What a Great Hilltop day! But sometimes you have to live what you preach.

I am currently employed with another company because the Church does not have the finances to pay me full time. In the past few months I have been working in this place it seems like I continue to get demoted. Whenever I ask somebody if my work ethic is bad, I am reminded that I am doing a great job so I can only assume that I have been forgotten. This to me has been a valley to over come, but this morning I found out the little hope I would be restored to my old position has now been fizzled out. Wow, what a blow! It seems as if when great things happen there is always the attacks of the adversary and now I have this valley to overcome.

Why does God allow these hilltops and valleys? It is to remind us of his goodness and the Grace he has given that is sufficient for all our needs. I am reminded that even though the employers I have is not concerned with the spirit of their employee, my God is still concerned. I am reminded that even though this valley God’s Grace is sufficient for all my need, and how great he is. Sometimes God takes you by the hand and leads you back to the mountaintop; sometimes God walks beside you to encourage you as you go through your valleys.

What is the point to this? My friend Hilltops and Valleys will come in our life, but God is always there to help us through both. We can have Hilltop days, as I did having the opportunity to deliver God’s message to a receptive people, or we can have Valley days where you find out that your company seemingly has ceased to care about you and your growth. Through it all we need to be reminded God is there and his Grace is sufficient for all our needs