For most people today, the mindset is not that we don't believe there is a God, rather the mindset today is that we don't believe we need God.
Why would we need God anyway? We've got advanced medicine, unbelievable technology, powerful machines and engines. We can fly in airplanes; tunnel under mountains; split atoms; build skyscrapers; transplant hearts and lungs... Is there no limit to the awesome power and ability of man?
But this morning, as I read the news, I saw the pictures of the tragic fires sweeping across California. I read that over 700 homes were destroyed just yesterday and no relief is in sight.
A couple of pictures really caught my attention...
This is a photograph of a lady looking at the Santiago Canyon fire from atop the Quail Hill community. In the foreground of the picture, you see the power, might, and ingenuity of man. You see the buildings, the lights, signs of technology and achievement. In the background you see the approaching fire. Man may have great strength, but if the wind blows the wrong direction for too long, the whole city will may be destroyed in a matter of hours, and man will be helpless to do anything about it.
This photo tells a similar story...
It turns out, we may not be as independent as we thought. We may not have the strength and power to shrug off God and call Him a relic of history after all.
As I read the news and looked at the photographs, I thought of something I read in the Psalms...
Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him? Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow. (Psalm 144:3-4)
Maybe we do need the Lord! Maybe we need Him a lot more than we sometimes think. Maybe we can learn a lesson in the tragedy of the California fires.
Read this passage a line at a time and see if the Lord doesn't change your perspective and focus today...
He looks on the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the hills, and they smoke.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord.
Psalm 104:32-34
Noel Dear
