“It is both day and night, that we keep smoking more and enjoying it less,” I told Ed when he called yesterday. Smoke from forest fires has spread to our area of our province, and it doesn't want to leave us. With a wind change, we could have clear air again. As of today, we are starting our second week of smokie air and irritated eyes and throats here in Chilliwack.
Ed said that he would swap crop-destroying hail for our smokie air. I told Ed that I hope that we are never able to swap weather or control it because it would end up making things worse. Predicting the weather can be helpful and is the place to stop, for the weather people don’t deserve the blame for poor air quality or damaging hail.
Ed reminded me that he believes bad weather is God’s fault. I asked Ed how that can be since Ed doesn’t believe in God. He informed me God is convenient to blame, and that lots of people blame God for bad stuff that happens. Ed said that I should realize God gets blamed a lot because people don’t believe in him. If they believed in God, they wouldn't blame him but trust him.
For the folks threatened by forest fires, blaming the fire won’t help much, nor will blaming God. Trusting God because you believe in him will be a source of strength and encouragement. If you are a farmer in Saskatchewan, and your crop has been ruined by hail blaming the hail or God won’t help much. Trusting God because you believe in him, will be a source of strength and encouragement to you.
Trusting someone involves assuming good will come to you from the other person, not harm. When we believe in and trust in God, we can claim the promise God gave through the prophet Jeremiah. There the Lord declares, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and hope.”
When Jesus was on earth, he acted in compassion towards people in need. In Matthew, it says, “Great crowds came to him bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.” Jesus made it clear that he did not come to be served but to give his life as a ransom for many.
For those that believe and trust in God, it is evident that he is ready to help us in the day of trouble. As Christians, we know that the Lord is readier, to hear our prayers than we are to say them. We repeatedly fall for the lie that we are self-sufficient. When will we realize our security and the safeguards of the world about us can and do collapse without warning.
Those that believe in God and trust him recognize that they are not in complete control of their lives. Their self-sufficiency is always limited. They are willing to allow that everything depends on God who works in all the circumstances. They take refuge in the Lord alone, not trusting in themselves or others.
