In the Blink of a Moment…
August 24, 2011
A Japanese student posed for pictures at the brink of Niagara Falls with an umbrella in her hand. She smiled, her legs straddling the rail until a mere whisper of wind tugged at the umbrella causing her tiny frame to lose its balance. In the blink of a moment she was gone…
An earthquake rocked the Atlantic Ocean sending a warning signal across Japan. Unfortunately a 30 minute warning wasn’t enough time for most to escape a tsunami that ripped across Japan earlier this year. Over 15,000 people lost their lives and over 300 billion dollars in damages to the country. In the blink of a moment lives were washed away…
A tornado ripped through the small town of Goderich, Ontario this past weekend resulting in a community state of emergency. In the blink of a moment…one man lost his life while working at the nearby salt mines.
Could anyone anticipate how quickly the UK riots ignited across the city of London? They called it a collapse of moral society as looters wreaked havoc. The damage continues to climb in the millions. Five people dead, businesses and homes destroyed in a blink of a moment….
Yesterday an earthquake that shook the eastern U.S. coast was also felt in parts of Ontario. The 5.8 earthquake produced wide spread ground shaking but only minor damage. Unfortunately the concern is whether or not this earthquake is a foreshock which means the worse is yet to come. In Philippians 4:6 we are told not to be anxious about anything. To be anxious is to be fearful and to be fearful is to doubt that God can take care of our needs. God promises in scripture after scripture that He has our back. God has our back, He is our rear guard, and He shields our head, and we can take rest in His shadow and under his wings. (Psalm 91:1&4)
Tragedy happens, sometimes because of carelessness but other times it is beyond our control. Earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, fires, terrorist attacks continue to be on the rise in our lifetime. In this fallen world we will experience adversity, pain, and grief. Jesus reminds the disciples in John, verse 33, that we will have trouble but that we are to take heart because He has conquered the world.
Because we do not know the time or the hour when our life could be snatched away, we must live each day like it could be our last. Are you prepared? Have you accepted Christ? Have you acknowledged your need for Him? Is there someone you need to forgive? Get right with God!
1 Thessalonians 5:2 reminds us that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in night - like a blink of a moment.
Now more than ever we must continue to stand in the gap for our unsaved family members, our neighbours, and for this nation. Pray that the signs and times of peril and calamity on this earth will cause hearts to turn toward the Lord and put their trust in Him. Pray that through whatever trial or tragedy they may encounter – God will be glorified. Why do we pray that God be glorified? Because each soul won for the kingdom of God brings glory to His throne.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” 2 Corinthians 6:2.
