September 14, 2008

  • He Is Enough!

       

    praising god

     

    COUNTING SPARROWS
    ~ Darnelle

    After the recent hurricane, Gustav, my husband and I attempted to drive through town to our home to check out any damage.  (We stayed with my parents during the storm.)  We weren’t prepared for much of what we saw.  Hurricane force winds can do unbelievable damage.  Every street and yard was littered with trees and sheets of metal roofing that came from who knows where.  Huge oak trees were laying on their sides as if a giant child had simply pushed them over.  Power lines were mangled and hanging in every direction.  A short while later, back at Mom’s house, I was walking around the area when I discovered a bird’s nest.

    Before that day, I had not noticed it.  It had probably been hidden by a few more leaves before the storm.  It was unbelievable to me that it was still intact after enduring 90 mph winds the previous day.  And … it wasn’t even in a tree! The nest had been built in a single grape vine that was clinging to a small arbor.  I walked around it, looking at it from every angle, trying to figure out how in the world the nest had managed to stay in one piece and remain in its very fragile environment.

    Earlier, during our drive, I saw once-massive pine trees laying in splinters and huge oaks resting on crashed roof tops and one street after the other, blocked by fallen power lines with trees on top of them.  And yet, here was this bird’s nest ~ untouched ~ in a tiny grape vine.  In the midst of my amazement, while gawking at the nest and trying to discover its secret, I suddenly noticed – in the background, beyond the nest – a large fallen tree.  It had been broken at its trunk as if it had been a twig.

    “God, what in the world was going on during that storm?”

    Suddenly, the nest and the tree were a picture to me of life on this planet ~ a picture that represents all of those questions we’re saving up for God ~ a picture of “those days” when we are ready to throw in the towel because 2 + 2 never quite equals 4.

    Those days leave us all struggling to catch our breath.  Way too often . . . life doesn’t make sense.  Good people – who love God – struggle under the weight of heavy loss.  Selfish people – who live lives of total disregard for any person or any god but themselves – seem to enjoy lives of abundance and ease.  And every now and then, in the midst of it, almost involuntarily, we hear ourselves whisper . . .

    “God, what in the world is going on?”

    Why does God allow the loss, the confusion, the lack, the wait?  Why does a 100 year old oak fall, and a bird’s nest remain untouched?  Why do saintly people sometimes suffer and at the same time, professional sinners seem to cruise through life unscathed?  I suspect that even if Father God chose to explain a few details – we’d scarcely grasp them.

    The truth is that He alone is able to see the entire mosaic that He has been building since before time began, whereas we can barely comprehend the single tile that we’ve been placed on.  These are the days when we must choose to trust an ever faithful God whose actions (or inactions) we may not understand.  He loves us.  He only has our ultimate, eternal good in mind.  He is faithful.  And He is glorified when we trust Him during the confusion.

    Deep down, of course, we know these things about our God.  We really do.  We know that we can’t comprehend His immeasurable love for us.  We know that He has plans for our lives. (Jeremiah 29:11)  We know that He promises … ”never to leave us nor forsake us.” (Joshua 1:5)  We know that He has … “engraved our names on the palms of His hands”. (Isaiah 49:16)  We know that He is holy and awesome and good and truly a perfect parent.  We know . . . in our heads.  Our hearts, however, sometimes need reminders.

    Soooooo ….. I am asking the Father to use the picture of the bird’s nest and the fallen tree to remind me that in the midst of powerful, destructive, fear-inducing storms in life, that He is not only capable of holding my life – my nest – together, but He desires to do so!  I am asking Him to whisper in my ear a reminder of an intact bird’s nest after 90 mph winds.  I am asking Him to use the storms of life – not to bring fear – but to remind me of a God whose hand and whose love is mightier than ANY storm.

    If He saw fit to save a bird’s nest … if He’s still counting sparrows …

    Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? 
    Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.
    ~ Matthew 10:29 …

    And if He’s still counting the hairs on our heads …

    And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
    ~ Matthew 10:30 …

    Then He is STILL waiting for us to trust that His arms are long enough to reach into our lives and hold us through our present storms … He is enough!


    “As for God His way is perfect”
    Psalm 18:30

    leafybar 2

    Take a moment today and ask God to show you O*N*E area where trusting Him has been difficult. 
    Ask Him to show you the first step in releasing that burden to Him.  He loves you AND He is enough!

    Father … teach us, show us, lead us to that place where we stop running from the storms
    and start running toward you. Thank you for your absolute faithfulness!  We love you!

    leafybar 2

Comments (15)

  • Absolutely one of the most beautiful posts I have read here on Xanga!!  :heartbeat:

  • Love and squeezes today!!:love:

  • I loved this true stor.  It touched me and convicted me.  Thank you for the encouragment to be a better truster in God.

  • :heartbeat:BTW I always keep you & your family in my prayers as well…:love::wave:

  • :sunny:What a lovely post and such a vivid  picture I get from the way you told of the little birds nest and the big tree…God has so many ways of letting us see His handy work…I was watching the hummers the other day when we had some heavy winds and as they tried so hard to get to the feeders and the wind would push them back they would fight even harder and come towards the feeder in a different direction just at the right time for a safe landing and get their food, I thought then how God always seemed to know the direction in which we need to go and He always makes a way for us to get there, we just have to lean on Him.

    I am glad your foot is ok, I know what its like to brake an ankle so be very careful…I am glad your MIL is ok and came through her surgery good…still praying for Elizabeth and her family.

    HuGs…Linda:heartbeat:

  • I just read this today. Yeah, I should be homeschooling. Actually my start time is nine, but since everyone is up early….

    Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?
    Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.
    ~ Matthew 10:29 …

    I guess I needed this specific verse today. After losing two ducks in a little over a week’s time… I want to ask What in the world is going on?!

    So I am grateful for the timing of this. Thanks
    Kim

  • :sunny: Hello my friend

    It HAS been a long time….I did not know that Gustov went that far …. glad you were ok

    We have just been doing homeschool…almost 4 weeks done now. 6th grade is sure alot…..I hope this old brain can keep up… :yes:

    This was such a visual for me….How even in a storm God is protecting His children…I am going thru a pretty bad time with my fibromyalgia right now….this really blessed me….thank you for that….blessings on your week…

  • This was just what I needed to read today. Thank you for posting it.

  • This was so encouraging to me. Thank you. Glad to know that you’re okay from the storms. Will be keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers.

  • :sunny:Good Morning Sweet Friend! Your post is Awesome of the Mighty God we serve! How He is in control of every situation from the most fragile to the most difficult. How when we give Him all our trust, He is in complete control! Thank You for this reminder of how we may never understand what He does but we can be reassured it is His Amazing Love!……
           ryc: We had dinner at a small restaurant called,”Oden’s BBQ.”  Family owned but one of the best places for bbq around this area. Also Jerry’s favorite. I either order the chicken or burnt ends. Since Dad was paying, lol, I went for the burnt ends. Yum, yum! And of course I always skip the fries and get a baked potato. Very filling! You can be reassured they give you a full plate for your money!…………
            Hope you and Lew have a Very Blessed Day! ((((((Hugs))))))………In Christ’s Love…….Monic:heartbeat: :love::heartbeat:

  • And that is a picture of peace ~ an intact bird’s nest in the middle of chaos.  I once saw a painting where a bird had built her nest at the end of a low-hanging branch which hung over a raging river.  She peacefully sat on her nest, unruffled by the tormented waters below.  The painting was simply titled, “Peace”.

  • :fun: I Love that picture. I always think…how peaceful that looks and inviteing? a little LOL because with my allergies it would kill me to be in a field. :fun:

  • Wow, when I read how you said that from the wild storm that an old oak tree was toppled over yet a birds nest in a grape vine was still intact and in the same place and wondering how that nest survived I immediately heard the Lord whisper to my heart. He said that He is the Vine and that when we cling to Him that We are safe from death and destruction. In Him death can’t touch us. What a visual! You were blessed by what you saw after a wild storm and then I read your blog and God touched me from your experience. Thanks for your blog today sweetie. Glad you weathered the storm safely.

    {{{{HUGS}}}}

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quote and verse

Faith expects from God what is beyond all expectation.
- Andrew Murray -

God often comes to us,
not in dramatic and the spectacular,
but in quiet, unexpected ways ...
In a still, small voice,
a gentle whisper,
God makes known His love.

In quietness and trust
is your strength.
Isaiah 30:15

Pleasure, possessions, power, and privilege are ultimately worthless in comparison to the indescribable
joy of knowing GOD!!

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5,6

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:
I will guide thee with mine eye.
Psalm 32:8

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