Our state experienced a catastrophic landslide this week.
The numbers of dead and missing fluctuate from day to day.
I'm reminded how precious life is...how precious people are...how life can be snuffed out so quickly.
The images of the devastation are everywhere...the sorrow-filled faces of family members, friends, neighbors...tragedies like this one tend to bring people together...to ignite us deep inside to the compassion and love and tenderness that is always there...stuffed down in the mundane of our day to day activities.
I watched the local news this morning.
The anchors spoke to a pastor because they said:
"Faith is important at a time like this."
At a time like this.
Faith is important at a time like this.
And then I wondered...
If we're in the midst of the pinnacle of happiness...does faith lose importance?
What if you were in the midst of the pinnacle of happiness...giving a new baby a bath, talking to an old friend on the phone, enjoying a latte...and the mud came down and ended it right there.
When is faith important?
We run to God when life gets too difficult for our spirits to bear alone.
When we receive a frightening diagnosis.
When we lose a loved one.
When we need a job
When the phone rings in the middle of the night.
When we feel all alone.
But what if we lived our lives in close fellowship with God
every... single... day...
and the difficulties came?
They're inevitable.
Life is not easy.
Death is sure.
To be close with God is not all about following a set of rules...
It is a relationship...
it is peace in the swirling chaos...
power in the face of fear...
love in the presence of hate...
and
joy in the midst of sorrow.
It is life eternal when death descends...
Jeremiah 17:7-8
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.
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